Yemen Monitor / Washington / Exclusive:
The American newspaper The Washington Post revealed on Thursday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rejected an Emirati trade-off offered to President Donald Trump’s administration. Abu Dhabi had conditioned its participation in a large-scale military operation to eliminate the Houthi group on Saudi Arabia terminating its support for the Yemeni “Al-Islah” party.
A former high-ranking U.S. official told the newspaper that escalating regional tensions in the Red Sea prompted the Trump administration last March to explore direct military options against the Houthis. Within this context, Trump contacted a prominent Emirati official, requesting his country’s assistance in efforts to “eliminate” Houthi threats targeting international shipping.
According to the source, the Emirati side showed immediate readiness for military field engagement, offering to deploy 2,000 soldiers urgently, with the potential to reinforce the force with an additional 5,000 troops later. However, this military offer was not without a political price; Abu Dhabi set a “decisive” condition to move forward.
The Emirati condition was to obtain a clear “Saudi pledge” to cease all support for the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Al-Islah). Al-Islah is the most prominent Yemeni force currently fighting the Houthis, and it is the same component against which Abu Dhabi has waged a long-standing conflict within the liberated provinces.
The newspaper added: Emirati officials believe that Saudi Arabia urged friendly Islamic countries—including Kazakhstan, Syria, and Jordan—to boycott the World Governments Summit held last week in Dubai. The UAE originally launched this summit in 2013 as a flagship regional forum.
