News – Yemen: Senior political figures say the protracted Saudi–Emirati rivalry has exposed the true objectives of the aggression against Yemen, leaving residents of the southern and eastern provinces to bear the human cost of competing regional agendas.

In remarks to Al-Masirah TV, Madram Harsi Abu Saraj, head of the Political Bureau of the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Southern Movement, said a decade of war has laid bare the reality of Saudi and Emirati intervention. He noted that while the conflict was previously managed discreetly, its goals are now evident, centered on control of strategic areas rather than development or public services.

Abu Saraj said the conduct of Saudi- and Emirati-backed factions has stripped away the slogans used to justify the aggression and blockade, adding that airstrikes, shelling, and internal clashes now dominate the scene, with local proxies paying the price. He stressed that claims related to the “southern cause” and state restoration have collapsed, arguing that genuine intentions would have been reflected in tangible improvements in occupied areas.

He also pointed to shifting alignments among Emirati-backed figures, saying several have moved closer to Riyadh as pressure intensifies, underscoring that these actors do not represent the will of southern Yemenis. Abu Saraj warned that the Saudi–Emirati power struggle is unrelated to Yemen’s interests and must be confronted, emphasizing that Yemeni blood is not a bargaining chip.

In a separate intervention, former minister in the Sana’a-based government, Ahmed Al-Aliyi, said the Saudi–Emirati project has been fully exposed as part of a broader US–Zionist scheme aimed at fragmenting the region and looting its resources under false pretexts. He described the so-called coalition as a cover for dual occupation, with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi treating occupied Yemeni territories as spheres of control.

Al-Aliyi said the past ten years have demonstrated that Gulf regimes aligned with Western powers have pursued agendas serving the Zionist entity across multiple theaters, including Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Palestine. He added that despite recent tactical adjustments between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, both continue to compete to entrench influence along Yemen’s strategic coasts and islands.

He affirmed that Sana’a’s national project has thwarted these plans and rallied Yemenis around an independent decision-making center, stressing that the leadership of Sayyed Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi now represents a broader Ummah-level stance confronting US–Zionist expansion.

Since the onset of the war on Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pursued overlapping but competing objectives, backing different local actors while vying for control over ports, energy resources, and strategic waterways. This rivalry has intensified in recent months, producing shifting alliances and exposing deep fractures within the aggression camp.