After Getting Rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia Uses Money and Influence in Yemen

Riyadh deploys billions in strategic gambit to dominate Yemen’s future after ousting Emirati forces—marking the Kingdom’s bold return to regional power politics

Saudi Arabia is executing an audacious financial and political takeover of Yemen after successfully pushing the United Arab Emirates out of the war-torn nation in late 2025. The Kingdom is committing nearly $3 billion this year alone to consolidate control over southern Yemen, transforming from coalition partner to sole power broker in one of the Middle East’s most complex conflicts.

This massive investment represents more than humanitarian aid—it’s a calculated strategic pivot that signals Saudi Arabia’s resurgence as the dominant Gulf power after years of focusing inward on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 modernization agenda.

The $3 Billion Power Play: Saudi Arabia Buys Yemen’s Loyalty,After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.

Six officials briefed on the developments revealed to Reuters that Riyadh is budgeting approximately $3 billion for 2026 to cover salaries for Yemeni military forces and government civil servants. Remarkably, roughly $1 billion of this amount will fund southern fighters previously bankrolled by Abu Dhabi—the same combatants who attacked Saudi-backed forces just months earlier.

In an exclusive interview with Inter.view, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Eryani confirmed, “Saudi Arabia has cooperated with us and expressed its readiness to pay all salaries in full.” After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.He emphasized that Saudi financial support will enable Yemen to reorganize fractured armed factions and bring them under centralized state authority.

After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.

Two Yemeni officials estimate Saudi Arabia’s total expenditure—including salaries, development projects, and energy subsidies—could exceed $4 billion in 2026 alone. This staggering commitment comes despite Riyadh facing its own budget pressures from persistently low oil prices that have slowed the Kingdom’s ambitious domestic gigaprojects.

December’s Shocking Betrayal: How UAE-Backed Forces Attacked Saudi Allies

The Saudi takeover followed a stunning December 2025 incident that exposed the deepening rivalry between the two Sunni powerhouses. Emirati-backed separatists from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched a surprise military assault against Saudi-supported government forces—a rare public display of the intensifying competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Saudi Arabia’s response was swift and uncompromising. The Kingdom bombed an Emirati military shipment inside Yemen,ordered all UAE forces to leave the country immediately, and provided crucial support for a counterattack against the STC separatists.

This marked the definitive end of the Saudi-UAE coalition that had jointly intervened in Yemen’s civil war since 2015.

The UAE government responded to Reuters inquiries by stating it had withdrawn forces from Yemen and “is no longer involved in the Yemeni file in any aspect.”After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen. An official emphasized the Emirates had dedicated “significant resources” over more than a decade to improving security and humanitarian conditions, but the chapter was now closed.

From Enemies to Guests: Saudi Arabia’s Masterful Charm Offensive

What happened next reveals Saudi Arabia’s sophisticated blend of coercion and inducement. Riyadh invited STC leaders to the Saudi capital for negotiations in early January 2026. According to three people familiar with the events, Saudi security officers initially confiscated the separatists’ phones and interrogated them for two days about their December attack.

But the harsh treatment proved temporary. Within weeks, Saudi Arabia relocated these same separatist officials into five-star Riyadh hotels, After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.covered all their expenses, and offered to fly in family members for visits. The Kingdom transformed adversaries into dependents through strategic generosity.

“It’s good to be on the winning side, even if you were the loser,” one separatist official candidly told Reuters, capturing the pragmatic calculation driving Yemen’s armed factions.

The Kingdom already maintained payrolls for Saudi-aligned fighters. Now Riyadh has assumed financial responsibility for hundreds of thousands of state workers and tens of thousands of STC combatants—the identical forces that attacked Saudi-backed troops in December while receiving UAE paychecks.

Why Yemen Matters: The Strategic Imperative Behind Saudi Arabia’s Investment

Saudi Arabia cannot afford instability along its 1,800-kilometer border with Yemen. The Kingdom’s ambitious plans to attract foreign tourists and investment for Vision 2030 remain vulnerable to security threats emanating from its impoverished southern neighbor.

Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure in 2022 demonstrated this vulnerability before a UN-brokered ceasefire reduced hostilities. Although that truce has held despite regional escalation from the Israel-Gaza war—which prompted Houthis to attack Red Sea shipping—Riyadh understands that renewed conflict could devastate its economic transformation plans.

“Instability in Yemen could derail Saudi plans to attract foreign visitors and investment at home,” explained Farea al-Muslimi, research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program. The Kingdom faces a straightforward calculation: spending billions now costs less than allowing Yemen to descend into chaos.

Yasmine Farouk, Gulf project director at the International Crisis Group, emphasized that Saudi Arabia will prioritize resource allocation to Yemen because “it is now the sole owner of this problem.” Without the UAE sharing the burden, Riyadh must either solve Yemen’s crisis or suffer the consequences alone.

The Military Strategy: Unifying Southern Yemen Against the Houthis

Saudi Arabia’s ultimate objective extends beyond financial control—the Kingdom seeks to unify southern Yemen’s divided military factions into a single Saudi-led command structure. After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.This would accomplish two critical goals: prevent Yemen from fracturing into separate northern and southern states, and build overwhelming pressure on the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels who control roughly one-third of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

“Saudi Arabia is seeking a better internal ordering within the anti-Houthi coalition—an ordering that would allow the Kingdom to present a stronger front in negotiations with the Houthis. This is why the stakes are so high,” Farouk told Reuters.After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.

The six officials revealed that Riyadh wants a unified military capability ready for either scenario: successful negotiations that bring Houthis into a power-sharing arrangement, or renewed military confrontation if diplomacy fails.

The Political Carrot: An Independent South—But Only After Defeating the Houthis

In a remarkable political concession, Saudi Arabia has privately told Yemeni secessionists they can achieve their decades-old dream of an independent southern state—with conditions attached. Two Yemeni officials and one Western official confirmed that Riyadh promised separatists could have their own nation, provided other Yemenis agree through a referendum and the Houthi problem is resolved first.

“Riyadh told them the south’s fate was up to them. But nothing can happen till the Houthis are dealt with,” one Yemeni separatist official explained.

This strategic offer serves multiple purposes. It incentivizes southern factions to unite against the common Houthi enemy, delays contentious debates about Yemen’s ultimate political configuration, and positions Saudi Arabia as the magnanimous power willing to support Yemeni self-determination—unlike the UAE, which backed southern independence without Saudi approval.

In January 2026, Riyadh hosted a conference where southern Yemenis openly flew the separatist flag—a gesture Reuters reporters witnessed firsthand. Yemeni officials attending the event interpreted this as Saudi Arabia deliberately drawing the separatist cause away from Abu Dhabi’s orbit and into Riyadh’s sphere of influence.

The Political Stick: Detention and Dismissal for Perceived Betrayal

Saudi Arabia hasn’t relied solely on financial incentives and political promises. The Kingdom has wielded punitive measures against Yemeni officials deemed insufficiently loyal during December’s crisis.

Yemeni Defense Minister Mohsen al-Daeri became Saudi Arabia’s highest-profile target. Three people briefed on Riyadh’s assessment said Saudi officials viewed Daeri’s perceived lack of opposition to the STC’s December offensive as tantamount to betrayal. After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.Saudi authorities dismissed Daeri from his position and detained him in Riyadh for weeks in January 2026, according to two of those sources.

Daeri has since been relocated from detention to hotel accommodation and now receives selected visitors—suggesting his status has improved but remains under Saudi supervision. Neither the Yemeni government nor Saudi Arabia’s media office responded to Reuters requests for comment about these allegations, and Reuters could not immediately reach Daeri directly.

This treatment sends an unmistakable message to other Yemeni officials: Saudi Arabia expects absolute alignment with its strategic objectives, and perceived disloyalty carries serious consequences.

The Ambitious Timeline: Can Yemen’s Conflict End by 2026?

Riyadh has privately told interlocutors it hopes to see Yemen’s conflict resolved by the end of 2026, according to two Yemeni officials. After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.Information Minister Eryani told Reuters he anticipated military operations would cease by year’s end, though the broader political settlement might require additional time.

“There is now one captain for this ship instead of multiple. That should mean it is less likely to sink,” observed one Western official familiar with the developments. However, the official added a critical caveat: “Riyadh is buying loyalty and stability, After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.but everyone is wondering whether they will sustain it.”

Chatham House expert Muslimi considers the 2026 deadline highly ambitious—likely designed to pressure Yemeni forces into accelerating their organizational consolidation rather than reflecting realistic expectations.After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen. Yemenis remain deeply divided over whether their future involves a unified state or partition into separate northern and southern nations—the same configuration that existed before 1990 unification.

Various separatist factions are resisting Saudi plans for unified military command, preferring to maintain their current autonomy. Muslimi estimates that negotiating and conducting a referendum on southern independence could require up to five years, assuming the Houthi conflict reaches resolution.

The War Economy Challenge: Why Teachers Earn $30 While Fighters Make $250

Perhaps the most daunting obstacle facing Saudi Arabia’s stabilization efforts is dismantling Yemen’s entrenched war economy. For a decade, armed conflict has fundamentally distorted economic incentives in one of the world’s poorest nations.After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.

Yemeni teacher Mohammad Al-Akbari’s experience illustrates the crisis. His monthly salary remains approximately $30—barely enough for basic survival. Meanwhile, an 18-year-old fighter still earns at least $250 monthly, more than eight times a teacher’s pay.After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.

“When we teach the kids, they say, what am I supposed to do with this education?” Al-Akbari told Reuters from the Yemeni port city of Mukalla. For an entire decade, he has watched colleagues and students abandon education to join armed groups backed by either Abu Dhabi or Riyadh, where financial rewards far exceed civilian employment.

This economic structure creates powerful incentives for continued militarization. Young Yemeni men face a stark choice: pursue education and civilian work that pays poverty wages, or join armed factions offering relatively generous salaries plus social status and political influence.

“The most dangerous thing facing Yemen today is the impossibility to imagine a peaceful life outside of militarism and war and fighting,” Muslimi warned. After getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia uses money and influence in Yemen.Transforming this war economy into a peacetime economy that provides civilian employment opportunities could take even longer than resolving the military and political dimensions of Yemen’s crisis.

Saudi Arabia’s Broader Regional Resurgence

Yemen represents just one theater in Saudi Arabia’s renewed regional activism. After years dedicated almost exclusively to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 domestic modernization drive, the Kingdom is simultaneously playing more active roles in post-Assad Syria and in Sudan—another arena where Riyadh competes with Abu Dhabi for influence.

This strategic shift reflects Saudi Arabia’s calculation that it cannot achieve domestic prosperity while surrounded by regional chaos. Although Saudi finances face pressure from low oil prices slowing massive domestic gigaprojects, the Kingdom has determined that investing billions in stabilizing neighboring countries ultimately costs less than managing perpetual border insecurity and refugee flows.

The Yemen intervention specifically demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s willingness to outspend competitors for strategic advantage. By absorbing the UAE’s previous financial commitments while adding substantial additional resources, Riyadh has effectively priced Abu Dhabi out of the Yemen market.

The Iran Factor: Houthis Remain the Ultimate Challenge

Despite Saudi Arabia’s success in sidelining the UAE and consolidating control over southern Yemen, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement remains the conflict’s ultimate challenge. The Houthis control approximately one-third of Yemen’s territory, including the capital Sanaa and the most densely populated regions.

The 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire has held despite regional tensions from the Israel-Gaza war, which prompted Houthis to launch attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping. This demonstrated the movement’s military capability and willingness to escalate beyond Yemen’s borders when pursuing broader political objectives.

Saudi Arabia’s massive investment in unifying and strengthening southern Yemeni forces serves dual purposes: creating a credible military threat that pressures Houthis toward negotiations, while simultaneously building the capability for renewed military confrontation if diplomacy fails.

Riyadh hopes that presenting Houthis with a unified, well-funded, Saudi-backed southern coalition will convince the movement that continued conflict offers no path to victory. The alternative—direct Saudi-Houthi military escalation—would risk reversing years of de-escalation and potentially trigger attacks on Saudi infrastructure similar to the 2022 strikes that preceded the current ceasefire.

What Comes Next: Three Possible Scenarios

Scenario One: Negotiated Settlement
Saudi Arabia successfully unifies southern factions, then leverages this strength to negotiate a comprehensive political settlement with Houthis that includes power-sharing arrangements and potential southern autonomy or independence through referendum. This represents Riyadh’s preferred outcome but requires sustained financial commitment and Houthi willingness to compromise.

Scenario Two: Frozen Conflict
The current ceasefire continues indefinitely, with Saudi Arabia maintaining financial support to prevent southern collapse while avoiding direct confrontation with Houthis. Yemen remains effectively partitioned between Houthi-controlled north and Saudi-backed south. This scenario proves expensive for Riyadh but avoids military escalation risks.

Scenario Three: Renewed War
Negotiations fail and Saudi-backed forces launch military operations against Houthis, potentially drawing Iran into more direct support for its Yemeni allies. This represents the worst-case scenario for all parties but remains possible if diplomatic solutions prove elusive.

The six officials briefed on Saudi strategy indicated that Riyadh is preparing for all three scenarios while working to make Scenario One most likely through its comprehensive financial and political engagement.

The Sustainability Question: Can Saudi Arabia Afford This Indefinitely?

One Western official raised the critical long-term question: “Riyadh is buying loyalty and stability, but everyone is wondering whether they will sustain it.”

Saudi Arabia faces genuine fiscal constraints despite its oil wealth. Global energy prices remain below levels required to fully fund both Vision 2030 domestic projects and massive external commitments in Yemen, Syria, and Sudan. The Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund has already scaled back or delayed several ambitious gigaprojects due to budget pressures.

If oil prices remain depressed or decline further, Riyadh may face difficult choices between domestic modernization priorities and regional stabilization investments. Yemen’s armed factions and civil servants could quickly return to instability if Saudi financial support proves temporary.

However, several factors suggest Saudi Arabia will maintain its Yemen commitment:

Border Security Imperative: Yemen’s instability directly threatens Saudi Arabia’s core security interests in ways that distant conflicts do not.

Sunk Costs: After nearly a decade of military intervention and billions already spent, abandoning Yemen would represent a catastrophic strategic failure.

No Alternative Patron: With the UAE excluded, no other regional power can or will replace Saudi financial support, giving Riyadh tremendous leverage.

Reputational Stakes: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally invested political capital in resolving the Yemen conflict—failure would damage his domestic and international standing.

Historical Context: Yemen’s Long Road From Unity to Fragmentation

Understanding Saudi Arabia’s current intervention requires recognizing Yemen’s complex history. North Yemen and South Yemen existed as separate states until 1990 unification. That union proved troubled from the start, producing a brief 1994 civil war won by northern forces.

The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings destabilized Yemen further, eventually leading to Houthi rebels—representing Zaidi Shia communities concentrated in northern Yemen—seizing the capital Sanaa in 2014. Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened militarily in 2015, leading a coalition nominally supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Iran-aligned Houthis.

However, the Saudi-UAE coalition quickly fragmented along multiple fault lines. Abu Dhabi primarily supported southern separatists seeking to restore an independent South Yemen, while Riyadh backed the unified Yemeni government structure. This fundamental disagreement over Yemen’s future political configuration created the tension that ultimately produced December 2025’s violent rupture.

The conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crises. Millions of Yemenis face food insecurity, lack access to clean water and healthcare, and live under constant threat of violence. International organizations have repeatedly warned that Yemen teeters on the edge of famine, with civilian suffering intensifying despite the 2022 ceasefire.

International Reactions: How Global Powers View Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Takeover

Western governments have offered cautious support for Saudi Arabia’s renewed Yemen engagement, viewing Riyadh’s financial commitment as potentially stabilizing despite concerns about the Kingdom’s human rights record and past conduct in Yemen’s war.

The United States maintains complex relationships with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but generally prefers Saudi leadership in Gulf security matters. Washington views anything that reduces Iranian influence—including weakening the Houthis—as strategically beneficial, even while criticizing Saudi Arabia’s domestic policies.

European powers have expressed hope that increased Saudi resources might improve Yemen’s humanitarian situation, though skepticism remains about whether military solutions can succeed where a decade of fighting has failed.

Iran has denounced Saudi Arabia’s actions as imperialism and interference in Yemeni sovereignty, while continuing to provide political and military support to Houthi forces. Tehran views Yemen as a strategic battlefield where it can pressure Saudi Arabia at relatively low cost.

China has maintained diplomatic neutrality while expanding economic engagement with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, prioritizing Belt and Road infrastructure projects over taking sides in regional conflicts.

The Human Cost: What Ordinary Yemenis Face Daily

Behind the geopolitical maneuvering and billion-dollar commitments, ordinary Yemenis continue suffering the conflict’s brutal consequences. The war economy that pays fighters vastly more than teachers has created a lost generation whose formative years have been consumed by violence.

Basic services have collapsed across much of the country. Hospitals lack medicine and equipment. Schools operate intermittently when they function at all. Electricity remains sporadic in areas that have power infrastructure at all. Clean water is increasingly scarce.

Humanitarian organizations estimate that approximately 80% of Yemen’s population requires some form of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition rates, particularly among children, have reached crisis levels. Preventable diseases spread through populations lacking access to healthcare.

The economic devastation extends beyond direct conflict damage. Yemen’s currency has lost most of its value. Inflation makes basic goods unaffordable for families. The formal economy has largely ceased functioning, replaced by the war economy’s distorted incentives.

For Yemenis, Saudi Arabia’s billions offer potential hope—if resources actually reach civilian populations and create genuine economic opportunities beyond joining armed factions. However, past experience with external financial commitments has bred widespread cynicism among Yemenis who have seen little material improvement despite years of promised assistance.

Conclusion: Saudi Arabia Bets Billions on Yemen’s Future—And Its Own Security

Saudi Arabia’s decision to push out the UAE and assume sole responsibility for Yemen represents one of the most significant strategic gambles in the modern Middle East. The Kingdom is committing extraordinary financial resources—potentially exceeding $4 billion annually—to stabilize a failed state, unify fractious armed groups, and ultimately resolve or contain a decade-long conflict.

Success would demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s capability to lead regional stabilization efforts and protect its borders from chaos. Failure would waste billions while leaving the Kingdom vulnerable to renewed violence, refugee flows, and Iranian influence on its doorstep.

The strategy’s sustainability remains uncertain. Can Riyadh maintain multi-billion-dollar annual commitments while oil prices remain low? Will Yemeni factions stay loyal once Saudi checks stop arriving? Can the Houthi challenge be resolved through negotiation or only through renewed war?

These questions will determine not only Yemen’s fate but also Saudi Arabia’s regional leadership credentials. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has staked significant political capital on transforming Yemen from liability into managed stability.

“There is now one captain for this ship instead of multiple,” the Western official noted. Whether that single captain can navigate Yemen’s treacherous waters to safety—or whether the ship will sink regardless of who commands it—remains the Middle East’s most expensive unanswered question.

What remains certain is that after getting rid of the UAE, Saudi Arabia has chosen money and influence as its preferred tools for shaping Yemen’s future. The next 12-24 months will reveal whether billions in cash can purchase what a decade of military intervention failed to achieve: peace, stability, and Saudi security along its most dangerous border.