Behind the Saudi-Emirati Rift

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, to explore what’s behind the rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the competing visions of regional order driving it. They examine where tensions have emerged most sharply, including in Yemen and Sudan, and what these flashpoints reveal about each country’s red lines and regional strategy. They look at how, despite the dispute, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are coordinating their response to Iran’s attacks on Gulf states following U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. They also discuss what Saudi-UAE détente might look like, whether Riyadh and Abu Dhabi can manage their disagreements, including over Sudan, if they are unable to fully resolve them and how countries in the Horn of Africa can avoid being drawn into the rivalry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Behind the Saudi-Emirati Rift online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Behind the Saudi-Emirati Rift is an episode from The Horn by International Crisis Group.

This episode is 37:50 long.

This episode was published on Mar 5, 2026.

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