NI: Cracking in Saudi and UAE relations

The latest tension in the Gulf has revealed one of the many differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the appropriate response to common challenges, this time with Iran.

While Saudi Arabia has taken a public stance using the language of confrontation, the UAE has remained vague in its reporting of events and has not blamed Iran, according to an article by Yoel Gozanski and Moran Zagha ​​on the issue.

At first, the relationship between the two countries was not always smooth. The relationship between the two ruling families in both countries was tense even before the independence of the UAE in 1971, due to border disputes and struggles for influence and power.

The two countries were no closer than they were recently, showing over the past decade a strong partnership in decision-making processes and close joint monitoring of key strategic issues in their region.

This cooperation was manifested in several issues, such as their support for Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt (2014), their involvement in the military campaign against Yemen (2015), and the imposition of an unprecedented siege on the State of Qatar (2017).

According to the authors, the two countries' partnership depends on the close ties between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, whose views on the issues of political Islam and Iranian influence coincide, as these elements are a destabilizing factor in the Middle East.

However, the recent tension in the Gulf revealed one of the differences between the two allies.The reactions differed on the Iranian challenge, Saudi Arabia was decisive in its declared position on Iran, and used the language of confrontation towards them, while the UAE chose to cajole in its statements and media coverage, according to the writer.

The writers believe that the position on the Yemen war was another factor of tension between the two countries. Tensions with Iran need to focus their attention on more pressing and closer challenges, and growing international criticism of the humanitarian impact of the Yemen war has been another catalyst for the UAE's withdrawal.

Undoubtedly, the UAE's withdrawal from Yemen without an acceptable arrangement with Saudi Arabia is a potential source of further disagreement between the two countries.

Despite a deep strategic alliance between the two countries, it is clear that they are beginning to take a different approach to the use of their influence and powers.