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Yemen Eyes GCC Entry Through Gulf “Marshall Plan”
Discussion has resurfaced about Yemen’s potential accession to the Gulf Cooperation Council, following official Yemeni statements that have returned the issue to the forefront of regional political debate. Last week, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi renewed his call for the country’s full integration into the Gulf Cooperation Council through what he described as…
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Yemeni Deputy FM Tells Alhurra About the Conditions for Yemen’s Accession to the GCC
Yemen’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mustafa Ahmed Al-Nu’man, said in an exclusive interview with Alhurra that discussions about Yemen’s accession to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) “are not new.” He explained that the idea has been raised repeatedly since the Council’s establishment and dates back to the period when Yemen was divided into two…
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Saudi-Emirati Rift Faces a New Test
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has reopened debate over the future of disagreements between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and the prospects for containing or managing tensions, saying that the Kingdom’s relations with the United Arab Emirates are “of critical importance to regional stability.” Bin Farhan’s remarks, made Monday during a joint news conference with…
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The Saudi Role in Hadramawt: A Guarantee or a Guardianship?
Two notable developments concerning Hadramawt have emerged in recent days, revealing a tangible reordering of the governorate’s representation and internal balance. The first was a photograph taken about two weeks ago showing the vehicle of Hadramawt Governor Salem Al-Khanbashi bearing the “Hadramawt flag.” This came after Saudi airstrikes targeted positions of forces affiliated with the…
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Zubaidi’s Sudden No-Show in Riyadh
At the height of a rapidly escalating political and military confrontation, two questions have come to dominate Yemen’s political scene: Why did Southern Transitional Council President Aidarous al-Zubaidi pull back at the last moment from traveling to Riyadh? And what happened to the STC delegation that had already arrived in the Saudi capital to take…
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Yemen at a Crossroads: Unity or Division?
Yemen’s unity is no longer a foregone conclusion. The shared experience forged by history over more than three decades of unity has not guaranteed that geography will remain unchanged; it may instead have provided sufficient reasons to make the redrawing of maps a real possibility. The most significant step in this equation came from Yemen’s…
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Yemen Is on the Brink as Southern Secession Looms
Amid rapidly unfolding events in southern and eastern Yemen, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced on Friday its intention to hold a referendum on the independence of southern Yemen within two years. In a statement read by its chairman, Aidarus al-Zubaidi, the Council said: “We announce the start of a two-year transitional phase,” calling on…
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Israel, Somaliland, and the Red Sea: A Strategic Pivot Against the Houthis
In a strategic reading of shifting dynamics in the Red Sea, Ilan Berman links Israel’s recognition of “Somaliland” to Tel Aviv’s effort to position itself as a guarantor of international maritime navigation through a strategy of forward deterrence. He points to the emergence of what he describes as a gradual strategic alignment among regional actors,…
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The Saudi-Emirati Rift: It Did Not Begin in Yemen
The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen following an airstrike carried out by fighter jets of the “Coalition to Support Legitimacy” on Yemen’s Mukalla port may help ease the confrontation between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, the incident exposed a deepening lack of trust between the two oil-rich Gulf powers, whose disagreements…
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Yemen Crisis Reverberates in Oman as Diplomacy Steps In
As it has done at similar junctures, Omani diplomacy moved to extinguish the flames of disputes that have recently flared between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, following an airstrike carried out by fighter jets of the Saudi-backed “Coalition to Support Legitimacy” on Yemen’s port of Mukalla. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al…