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Amid rising tensions with Saudi Arabia, UAE decides to withdraw forces from Yemen

Saudi Arabia has accused the UAE of pressuring Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to push towards its border, declaring its national security a "red line".

3 min readUpdated: Dec 31, 2025 11:56 AM IST

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (Photo: X/@AP)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, December 30, announced that it was withdrawing its remaining forces from Yemen after Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces bombed the southern Yemeni port city of Mukalla.

The airstrike, which, according to Riyadh, targeted a UAE-linked weapons shipment, marked a significant escalation in the widening rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Following the attack, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi and the UAE about the rising tensions in Yemen and the issues affecting the security in the Middle East.

Many Gulf countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain, stated that they would back efforts to intensify dialogue and reach a political solution. Meanwhile, Qatar highlighted that its security was deeply entwined with that of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, stating that their security “constitutes an inseparable part” of its own.

The UAE defence ministry said that it had terminated the mission of its counterterrorism units in Yemen.

It stated that its remaining mission in the country was limited to “specialised personnel as part of counterterrorism efforts, in coordination with relevant international partners”.

This statement is issued with reference to the statement made today, Tuesday, 30th December 2025, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates regarding the ongoing developments in the Republic of Yemen, and the facts it outlined concerning the presence of the… pic.twitter.com/EN3kkMbuDa

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) December 30, 2025

A military statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the strikes on Tuesday, stating that the attack came after the ships arrived from Fujairah, a port city on the UAE’s eastern coast.

“The ships’ crew had disabled tracking devices aboard the vessels, and unloaded a large amount of weapons and combat vehicles in support of the Southern Transitional Council’s forces,” the statement said.

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“Considering that the aforementioned weapons constitute an imminent threat, and an escalation that threatens peace and stability, the Coalition Air Force has conducted this morning a limited airstrike that targeted weapons and military vehicles offloaded from the two vessels in Mukalla,” it added.

Also Read | Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen over shipment of weapons for separatists, arrived from UAE Dubai

Saudi Arabia accuses UAE of pressuring Yemen’s separatist STC

Saudi Arabia has accused the UAE of pressuring Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to push towards its border, declaring its national security a “red line”.

The coalition attacked what it claimed was a dock used to provide foreign military support to the separatists. Head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, gave the Emirati forces 24 hours to leave.

The UAE, expressing shock over the airstrike, claimed that the shipment in question was for Emirati forces and did not contain weapons. However, it said that it sought a solution “that prevents escalation, based on reliable facts and existing coordination”.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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