‘UAE stabbed us in the back’: MBS

July 18, 2023

Source: The Wall Street Journal

In this Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019, photo released by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The once close officials, MBS and MBZ, are head to head, competing over who has more influence and presence in the region.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) convened a small group of local media in Riyadh for a rare off-the-record briefing in December and delivered a shocking message, according to the Wall Street Journal. During the meeting, MbS said that the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s longtime ally, had “stabbed us in the back,” he claimed. “They will see what I can do,” he told the group, according to people at the meeting.

A rift has developed between MBS and his former mentor, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), reflecting the struggle for geopolitical and economic clout in the Middle East and global oil markets. That said, the two royals are now feuding over who calls the shots in a Middle East where the US is playing a deteriorating role, according to WSJ

US officials are concerned that the Gulf competition will make it more difficult to form a coherent security alliance to confront Iran, end the eight-year war on Yemen, and expand Israeli normalization agreements with Arab nations. That said, the rivalry that the US was so determined to orchestrate took a wrong turn, and the latest developments are definitely not in its favor. 

“These are two highly ambitious people who want to be key players in the region and the go-to players,” a senior Biden administration official said, adding that “On some level, they still collaborate. Now, neither seems comfortable with the other being on the same pedestal. On balance, it’s not helpful to us for them to be at each other’s throats.”

According to close sources, as per the WSJ, the once-close MBS and MBZ haven’t spoken in more than six months, people close to them said, and their private disputes have spilled out into the open. On that note, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have competing interests in Yemen, undermining efforts to reach a peace agreement in the country, while Emirati resentment of Saudi pressure to boost the global price of oil is causing new schisms in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Economic competitors 

The UAE and KSA are both increasingly economic competitors.

In an effort to end the KSA’s economic reliance on oil, MBS is pushing companies to move their regional headquarters to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, from UAE’s Dubai, which has become a tourist hub for Westerners. 

He’s also initiating plans to establish digital hubs, attract more visitors, and build logistical hubs to contest the UAE’s status as the Middle East’s commercial powerhouse, according to the WSJ. MBS announced in March the establishment of a second national airline to compete with Dubai’s highly regarded Emirates.

In terms of soft power, the Saudi purchase of Newcastle United, England’s soccer club, in 2021, and investment in worldwide superstar players occurred at the same time as Manchester City, controlled by a senior member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, won the English and European soccer titles.

The Saudi rapprochement, deal with Iran

A UAE official, speaking for the government, said claims of strained relations were “categorically false and lack foundation,” and a Saudi official called the idea “simply not accurate.”

As mentioned in the WSJ report, the Saudi official added that “The UAE is a close regional partner of Saudi Arabia, and our policies converge on a wide range of issues of mutual interest,” adding that the two countries work together with other Gulf neighbors on political, security, and economic coordination.

The UAE official said their “strategic partnership is based on the same objectives and vision for regional prosperity, security, and stability.” 

During his meeting with local media outlets, the Saudi leader stated that he had issued a list of requests to the UAE, according to the sources in the UAE, adding that MBS warned that if the smaller Gulf nation did not comply, Saudi Arabia was prepared to take harsh measures, similar to what it did against Qatar in 2017 when Riyadh broke diplomatic relations with it for more than three years and imposed an economic blockade with the support of Abu Dhabi. MBS warned, according to sources who were present, “It will be worse than what I did with Qatar.”

MBS’ step toward diplomacy, away from MBZ

Since the meeting in December, MBS took a step towards diplomacy and ended the political isolation imposed on him after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. He turned to China for assistance in mending Saudi Arabia’s relations with Iran and then coordinated Syria’s return to the Arab League, a process that the UAE had begun several years before, according to the WSJ

MBS is also in talks with the US about formally recognizing “Israel,” which the UAE did in 2020. Moreover, the Crown Prince is also leading diplomatic efforts to quash violence in Sudan, where the UAE backs the opposing side. 

MBZ privately criticized the Saudi ruler for his actions, accusing him of undermining ties between the two nations, critically pointing out MBS’ relationship with Russia and its oil policies and “risky moves,” in reference to the deal with Iran. 

Read next: Saudi Arabia, UAE try to lobby EU countries to restore ties with Syria

That said, the Emirati official skipped an Arab summit MBS called for, and also the Arab League’s vote in May to allow Syria back into the circle. On the other hand, MBS himself was absent when MBZ met with Arab leaders at a hastily arranged regional summit in the UAE in January.

“Tensions are rising between them, in part because MBS wants to step out from under MBZ’s shadow,” said Dina Esfandiary, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program, adding that “Things are going to get worse because both countries are getting more confident and assertive in their foreign policy.”

A deteriorating alliance 

The Saudis and Emiratis have considered themselves the closest of allies, yet their relationship has been strained even before the United Arab Emirates achieved independence from Britain in 1971.

Sheikh Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father, resented Saudi dominance of the Arabian peninsula, and then-Saudi King Faisal refused to acknowledge his Persian Gulf neighbor for years, seeking leverage in several territorial conflicts. The United Arab Emirates canceled plans for a unified Gulf central bank in 2009 due to its proposed site in Riyadh. There are still territorial conflicts between the two countries over oil-rich terrain.

With the simultaneous rise of MBZ and MBS, the two countries grew closer. When MBZ’s half-brother, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, had a crippling stroke in 2014, the Emirati monarch became de facto ruler of his country at the age of 54. When MBS’s father, King Salman, took power in 2015, MBZ began mentoring the young Saudi prince, who was just 29 years old at the time.

According to WSJ, the two men had never met before an overnight camping expedition in the vast Saudi desert. Sources that were present revealed that the outing was accompanied by trained falcons and a small entourage; the outing—roughly equal in Gulf tradition to a round of presidential golf—was a watershed moment in their friendship.

MBS sought advice from MBZ and employed some of the same banks and consultants that the Emiratis used for a similar strategy a decade earlier while developing a plan to change and open up his country. On that note, MBS and MBZ formed a foreign-policy alliance that launched the war on Yemen, assisted Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in a coup, armed Libyan militants in the country’s divided east, and boycotted Qatar.

OPEC competition, dispute

The schism erupted last October when OPEC agreed to cut output, surprising the Biden administration. The UAE agreed to the decrease but privately told US officials and the media that Saudi Arabia had forced them to do so, according to the WSJ

The dynamic highlighted an ongoing dispute between Saudis and Emiratis over OPEC policy, which Riyadh has long dominated as the world’s top petroleum exporter, WSJ wrote, adding that the Emiratis have increased their oil-production capacity to more than four million barrels per day, with aspirations to exceed five million, but are only allowed to pump roughly three million under OPEC regulation, costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Read next: Saudi Arabia slashes July oil output, OPEC+ extends April cut to 2024

On a more crucial point, the Emirati increase in oil production capacity presents the potential ability to move output up and down and with it global oil prices. Until recently, only Saudi Arabia wielded that sort of market power. Disagreements between the two officials are threatening to derail continuing negotiations to end the war on Yemen, which pits the Saudis, Emiratis, and a variety of Yemeni factions against the Yemeni Armed Forces.

The UAE signed a security agreement with the Saudi-backed Yemeni presidential leadership council in December, granting Abu Dhabi the authority to interfere in Yemen and the waters off its coast. Officials in Saudi Arabia saw it as a challenge to their Yemen strategy. In turn, Saudi Arabia had intentions to construct a pipeline that spreads from the kingdom to the Arabian Sea, through the Yemeni province of Hadramout. However, the plans were jeopardized by UAE-backed forces. 

Biden could lose ambitions in Gulf

The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has irritated the Biden administration, which wants friendly Gulf capitals like Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to help build a united front against Iran. On critical issues such as Ukraine and China, neither MBS nor MBZ is completely aligned with Washington.

On that note, in reference to the obvious new political dynamics in the region, US authorities are growing concerned about MBZ’s outreach to Beijing and Moscow, which, like MBS, has strengthened connections with them.

Biden and MBS 

Biden took office promising to treat the kingdom as a pariah state in the aftermath of the Khashoggi assassination, which MBS has stated he did not order. Instead, in July 2022, Biden visited Saudi Arabia, helping to end his isolation.

Companies in the United States who were previously unwilling to engage with the kingdom are now reconsidering. This desire is anticipated to grow as a year-end deadline approaches for companies with Saudi government contracts to establish a base in Riyadh rather than flying in from Dubai.

Read next: Biden goes home with no Saudi commitment on oil production: WSJ

The WSJ explains that according to those familiar with the case, the Biden administration arranged a meeting on May 7 between MBS and the Emirati president’s younger brother, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, who was once seen as a confidant of the Saudi crown prince. Tahnoun had been frozen out, making at least six trips to the kingdom without gaining a meeting with MBS until he received assistance from the US, according to the sources.

With regard to decisions concerning Yemen, MBS told his advisors “I don’t trust them anymore,” before telling them to keep policies as is. 

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Sayyed Al-Houthi: Our Investigation Confirmed The American Role In Targeting Al-Sammad

Feb 24, 2023

Sayyed Al Houthi Addresses Americans, British, Saudis And Emiratis: “Leave All Our Provinces, Our Territorial Waters”

The leader of the revolution, Sayyed Abdulmalik Badr al-Din Al-Houthi, confirmed that the personality of the martyr President Saleh al-Sammad in loyalty and patriotism and his ability to unite the home front prompted the aggression to assassinate him.

This came in a speech he delivered on the occasion of the anniversary of the martyr President Saleh Al-Sammad.

Sayyed Abdulmalik affirmed that the aggression sought to target the martyr al-Sammad due to his active role in confronting the aggression and supporting the just cause of our people, adding that the aggression noticed in the martyr al-Samad his superior ability to unify the internal ranks as a priority of confronting the aggression.

Sayyed Abdulmalik Al-Houthi said: “On the anniversary of the martyr President Saleh al-Sammad, we remember him, as he was a model of honesty, loyalty, patience and relentless pursuit of God’s pleasure.”

Regarding the assassination of the martyr President Saleh Al-Sammad, Sayyed Abdulmalik indicated that “In the stages of escalation by the aggression to control Hodeidah, the martyr Al-Sammad was present there to mobilize the people and activate all official and popular capabilities.”

In his speech, Sayyed Abdulmalik accused the US of being behind the assassination of the martyr President Saleh Al-Sammad.

He said: “the US was the one who determined for the Saudi to target the martyr Al-Sammad as a primary target.”

The leader affirmed that all the campaigns carried out by the coalition forces in their aggression against Yemen, including the campaign that targeted Hodeidah, were carried out under US supervision.

In his speech, Commander Abd al-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi explained that the Yemeni people surprised the coalition, which had thought that the assassination of al-Sammad would break its will and weaken it, saying: “the result was completely the opposite.”

He added, “After the assassination of the martyr al-Sammad, Yemeni people showed an increase in their determination, patriotism and sacrifice”.

Sayyed Al Houthi Addresses Americans, British, Saudis And Emiratis: “Leave All Our Provinces, Our Territorial Waters”

Feb 24, 2023

Leader of the Yemeni revolution, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, revealed on Thursday the developments of the Muscat consultations between Sanaa and Riyadh, and the American role in obstructing them with the aim of benefiting from the sale of weapons and its continuation in occupying Yemen and its sea outlets.

This came in a speech that he delivered on the occasion of the anniversary of the martyred President Saleh Al-Sammad.

Al-Houthi explained that the American regime seeking to obstruct efforts by distancing the Saudi-led coalition from assuming any obligations arising from any agreement or understanding, trying to transform the issue and “as if it were a purely internal battle.

The leader of the revolution affirmed that who launched the aggression and war on Yemen is the Saudis, along with the Emiratis and their mercenaries who joined under American, British and Zionist supervision.

Therefore, the coalition cannot shirk through its well-known official statements announcing any commitments to any agreements or understandings, because it is the belligerent and aggressor party that leads the position and the war on our country as it is present at the political level in the United Nations and the Security Council, in addition to its planes and missiles that bomb, kill and destroy the infrastructure and destroy facilities in the country.

“Let the Americans and the British know, and let the Saudis and Emiratis know that they have to hold their obligations and entitlements that are legitimate for our people.”

Sayyed al-Houthi explained that the American sought to obstruct the understandings led by Oman by obstructing the file of salaries and entitlements that our people receive from our national wealth, noting that the national wealth and its sources are occupied by the coalition in Marib and Shabwa and Hadramout, as well as ports.

The aggression coalition practically controls our national wealth and is responsible for plundering that wealth and depriving the people of for eight years, in addition to compensation, he said.

The leader al-Houthi indicated to “the American played a game on the issue of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Yemen in trying to make this point postponed indefinitely and to keep the military presence in our country.

“We cannot accept the continuation of the imbalance in the country, or there be a solution to the internal problems in light of the existence of a state of war, siege and foreign presence in the country.”

He added, “We cannot accept understandings and search for solutions to political problems in light of the existence of war, siege and occupation, because understanding under such a situation is blackmail and direct interference in the affairs of our country. Let the Americans know that and let the picture be clear to our people.”

Al-Sayyed reaffirmed that one of the priorities and basic issues that we adhere to in any dialogues is the humanitarian and livelihood file for our people, and this is a priority and a humanitarian and legal entitlement, even as stipulated in the international law to which they belong.

Yemen: Prisons Beyond the Boundaries of Humanity

 December 14, 2022 

By GIDHR

The Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights published a series of reports in which it has been monitoring the human rights situation in Yemen since the start of the Saudi-led war in March 2015.

In one report, the organization provided verified information on a particular category of violations caused by nearly eight years of war in Yemen, which has been led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This war caused thousands of civilian casualties, created a catastrophic humanitarian situation, suppressed public rights and freedoms, and deprived Yemenis of the most basic life necessities.

Since the start of military operations in Yemen, the Saudi and Emirati forces have been deployed to many Yemeni cities, islands, and regions. These deployments resemble a form of direct occupation through which the occupiers control public affairs, exploit resources and wealth, and have actual control over the management of all of the cities’ and areas’ capabilities.

These cities and areas had fallen under the full control of Saudi and Emirati military leaders and political figures who extended their influence using military and security formations. These were deployed throughout the cities and regions of southern Yemen, several strategic islands, and the city of Marib in the north.

Throughout the war, the Saudi-Emirati coalition took control of the city of Aden and established dozens of secret prisons. They also took control of Hadhramaut and turned Al-Rayyan airport and the port of Dabh into secret prisons. In Shabwa, the Emirati forces turned the Balhaf oil facility into a secret prison.

In Al-Mahrah, Saudi forces disrupted operations at the Al-Ghaydah airport and turned it into a detention center for those opposed to its presence. The forces from the two countries also established detention centers and secret prisons in Abyan, Marib, Al-Mokha, and Socotra Island.

In addition, many residents fell victim to arbitrary arrest campaigns. Reports and investigations carried out by international organizations and human rights activists surfaced. This resulted in the discovery of dozens of secret prisons and illegal detention centers established by Saudi and Emirati forces. These facilities were run by Saudis and Emiratis inside Yemen.

The detainees in these prisons were subjected to the worst forms of humiliation, and the worst methods of torture imaginable.

These detainees are usually placed in prisons administered by local authorities for a short time and then transferred to secret prisons and detention centers inside Yemeni cities. Others are transferred outside Yemen to prisons in Abha, Saudi Arabia and even prisons belonging to the UAE in Eritrea and Djibouti.

Hundreds of travelers were subjected to various arbitrary measures, from the moment they were taken to the detention centers in areas controlled by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates up until the deportation of a number of them to prisons and detention centers located on the territory of Saudi Arabia.

GIDHR investigated a number of violations that were cited in reports compiled by local and international organizations and committed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in their illegal detention facilities and prisons in southern Yemen.

GIDHR reviewed information and testimonies provided by Yemeni detainees in Saudi and Emirati-run prisons during its investigation, all of which confirmed that opposing the Saudi and Emirati presence on Yemeni territory as well as rejecting and opposing the policies of the two countries was the only charge leveled against those who were subjected to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture.

According to information gathered and verified by GIDHR, detainees in Saudi and UAE prisons face the most severe forms of oppression, humiliating and degrading treatment, and torture that no human mind can imagine.

GIDHR’s investigations identified the following torture methods:

– Kicking and slapping

– Deprivation of water and food for long periods

– Beating with whips, sticks, and electric wires

– Electrocution

– Burning with cigarettes stubs

– Hanging upside down

– Shackling and hanging from the hands and feet for hours

– Hitting the extremities with hammers

– Sleep deprivation

– Denying access to toilets

– Use of insulting, “obscene and sexual” words

– Simulated drowning in water basins

– Forced to drink urine

– Forced nudity

– Prohibition from practicing rituals

– Prostrating to the Saudi and Emirati flags

– Sexual assault and rape

– Sodomy

– Threats of arrest and sexual assault of relatives

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صنعاء تكشف تفاصيل عملية منع نهب النفط من ميناء الضبة في حضرموت

 

الاثنين 21 تشرين ثاني 2022

المصدر: الميادين.نت

المتحدث باسم القوات المسلحة اليمنية، العميد يحيى سريع، يعلن نجاحها في إجبار سفينة نقل، كانت في مهمة نهب كميات كبيرة من النفط، على المغادرة.

المتحدث باسم القوات المسلحة اليمنية العميد يحيى سريع

قال المتحدث باسم القوات المسلحة اليمنية، العميد يحيى سريع، اليوم الإثنين، إنّ القوات اليمنية “نجحت في إجبار سفينة نفطية حاولت الاقتراب من ميناء الضبة، جنوبي البلاد، على المغادرة”. 

وأضاف سريع أنّ “السفينة، التي كانت في مهمة نهب كميات كبيرة من النفط، رفضت الاستجابة لتحذيرات القوات المسلحة”، موضحاً أن “العدو حاول اتخاذ إجراءات تمكّنت القوات المسلحة من رصدها، والتعامل معها بالصورة الملائمة”.

وأكّد أنّ “القوات المسلحة اليمنية مستمرة في حماية الثروة الوطنية السيادية حتى تصبح عائداتها في خدمة اليمنيين، ولتغطية مرتبات كل الموظفين في جميع المناطق اليمنية”. 

اللجنة الاقتصادية: مرتزقة العدوان كانوا ينوون نهب 2.1 مليون برميل نفط 

في غضون ذلك، قالت اللجنة الاقتصادية العليا إنها خاطبت الشركات النفطية، ذات العلاقة بالناقلة النفطية واللنشات، ودعتها إلى “عدم الاقتراب من المياه الإقليمية، وعدم خرق قرار منع نهب الثروة السيادية”.

كما تم، وفق اللجنة، “مخاطبة الدول التي تحمل القطع البحرية أعلامها، والدول التي تنتمي إليها طواقم القطع البحرية المشاركة في محاولة نهب الثروة السيادية، لوقف مشاركتهم في محاولة النهب”.

وفي إثر ذلك، استجاب طاقم أحد اللنشات للإجراءات القانونية والمخاطبات، وغادر المياه الإقليمية اليمنية، لكن الناقلة النفطية وسائر القطع تجاهلت تلك المخاطبات، وانتهكت المياه الإقليمية اليمنية، صباح اليوم الإثنين.

وبحسب اللجنة الاقتصادية، فإن “المعلومات كانت قد أشارت إلى أن مرتزقة العدوان ينوون نهب كمية 2.1 مليون برميل من النفط الخام بقيمة تقديرية 174 مليون دولار”.

وتابعت اللجنة: “بعد استنفاد كل الإجراءات القانونية، التي جرى تجاهلها، تم إعلام قيادة القوات المسلحة المسؤولة عن حماية الثروة الوطنية وصونها وفقاً للدستور، وفي إثر ذلك قامت القوات المسلحة بواجبها”.

وأكدت اللجنة أنه تم إجبار الناقلة (PRATIKA براتيكا) على مغادرة الميناء عند الساعة الخامسة، من مساء اليوم الإثنين”. 

السفينة غادرت من دون شحن النفط

وفي وقتٍ سابق اليوم، أفاد مراسل الميادين في اليمن بـأنّ سلاح الجو اليمني المسيّر استهدف سفينة نقل في ميناء الضبة “من أجل منع محاولة نهب النفط اليمني عبر ميناء الضبة، الخاضع لقوات المجلس الرئاسي، المعيَّن سعودياً”.

وأشار مراسلنا إلى “وقوع انفجار عنيف في ميناء الضبة النفطي، بعد رسوّ سفينة لنقل النفط فيه”، مؤكّداً “مغادرة سفينة النقل من دون شحنها النفط، في إثر الهجوم عبر طائرات مسيّرة على الميناء النفطي”.

وذكر أنّ “قيادة لواء الضبة أعلنت إغلاق طريق الضبة في مديرية الشِّحْر، شرقي حضرموت، حتى إشعار آخر، بسبب دواعٍ أمنية، في إثر الانفجار العنيف في الميناء النفطي”.

ولفت مراسل الميادين إلى أنّ هذا الهجوم “هو الثاني من نوعه، الذي تنفّذه قوات حكومة صنعاء على الميناء ذاته، خلال أقل من شهر، منذ 21 تشرين الأول/أكتوبر الفائت، من أجل منع نهب النفط اليمني”.

اقرأ أيضاً: كيف نهب التحالف السعودي نفط اليمن؟

يُذكَر أنّ القوات المسلحة اليمنية قامت بعملية تحذيرية في محيط ميناء الضبة في محافظة حضرموت، في 21 تشرين الأول/أكتوبر الماضي، في إطار التنفيذ العملي لخطوات التصدي لعمليات النهب المتواصل للنفط اليمني، بحيث أطلقت المضادات الجوية النار على مسيّرة فوق ميناء المُكلا. 

وبارك مجلس الوزراء في حكومة صنعاء العملية التحذيرية، مؤكّداً  أنّ “الثروة النفطية ثروة سيادية لكل أبناء اليمن، ويجب أن تسخَّر من أجل تخفيف معاناته، ودفع مرتبات موظفيه، ودعم الخدمات الأساسية”. 

وكان المشاط أصدر توجيهات بتحرير المخاطبات الرسمية النهائية لكلّ الشركات والكيانات ذات العلاقة بنهب الثروات السيادية اليمنية، من أجل توقفها الكامل عن عمليات النهب. 

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