UAE returns to the Yemen war; deal with Saudi Arabia after Houthi advances

The United Arab Emirates has agreed with Saudi Arabia to return to the war in Yemen and resume financial payments to government and anti-Houthi forces in the south of the country; in return, Saudi Arabia will provide air cover for these forces. The Guardian reported the deal on Saturday, 17 October 2026, citing sources in Yemen. The UAE's return to the war in Yemen is a response to the recent advances of the Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, which have alarmed the leaders of the Gulf states.

According to these reports, the UAE's aid will go above all to the Giants Brigades; a force in southern Yemen that the UAE trained and funded for years, and which was left without that support after the UAE withdrew from military operations in Yemen last January. As of writing, the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have not officially announced the deal.

The end of the Riyadh–Abu Dhabi rift over Yemen

Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, and the UAE backs the Southern Transitional Council, a group that seeks the secession of southern Yemen; in recent years this duality had strained relations between the two countries. The new deal is the first tangible sign of this rift narrowing, and shows that the Houthi threat, with Houthis attacking Saudi territory with the Islamic Republic's backing, has brought the Arab allies together again.

In recent days the Houthis have placed Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, under heavy siege and called on government forces and local resistance groups to surrender. On Thursday, 15 October, they targeted the presidential palace in Aden, the Yemeni government's temporary capital, and the next day also fired two missiles at Aden airport. Houthi drone and missile attacks on Saudi airports and energy facilities are also continuing.

The Islamic Republic's role and the region's new alignment

Assessments by Saudi intelligence and its Yemeni allies indicate that IRGC officers direct the targeting of the Houthi attacks. At the same time, Egypt is also moving closer to this alignment: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier asked parliament to authorise him to respond to any Saudi defence request. On Sunday, Israel's Channel 14 claimed that thousands of Egyptian troops with heavy equipment are being sent to Saudi Arabia; this report has so far not been confirmed by Cairo or Riyadh.

The UAE's return, together with Saudi air power and Egypt's readiness, could shift the balance of the Yemen war to the Houthis' disadvantage and confront one of the Islamic Republic's most important proxy arms in the region with a broader front.

The UAE with money and Saudi Arabia with air cover are lining up again against the Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, in Yemen.