Since tensions between Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi emerged in 2019 over Yemen, Saudi media have framed the dispute in terms of Abu Dhabi’s policies and political team, avoiding language that treats the UAE as a single, unified actor.

Developments in southern Yemen, amid the rapid transformations on the Yemeni scene, have become a central element in the ongoing conflict.

Recent shifts in Yemen’s political landscape suggest the country is entering a new phase, marked above all by a distinctly Saudi-led recalibration of how the Yemen file is managed, following the retreat of the Emirati role.

Yemen’s political landscape is shifting rapidly as local and regional power balances change and key actors reposition, reshaping the political and military map—most notably in the south.

Amid escalating unrest in Yemen's southern cities, Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s internationally recognized PLC, called for a conference in Riyadh to defuse the crisis, inviting all southern forces, including the UAE-backed separatist STC militia.