Saudi Arabia said Tuesday its national security was a red line, hours after the Saudi-led coalition carried out a limited air strike at Yemen’s Mukalla port, targeting what it described as foreign military support for UAE-backed separatists.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “any threat to our national security is a red line, and the Kingdom will not hesitate to take all necessary steps and measures to confront and neutralize any such threat.”
The Kingdom expressed disappointment over what it described as pressure by the UAE on Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces to carry out military operations on the Kingdom’s southern border in Yemen’s Hadramout and Al-Mahara governorates, saying this posed a threat to Saudi national security and to the security and stability of Yemen and the region.
The Foreign Ministry said the steps taken by the UAE were “highly dangerous, inconsistent with the principles upon which the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen was established, and do not serve the coalition’s purpose of achieving security and stability for Yemen.”
Riyadh called on the UAE to respond to Yemen’s request to withdraw its forces within 24 hours and to halt any military or financial support to any party inside Yemen.
It stressed the importance of prioritizing principles of brotherhood and good neighborliness among Gulf Cooperation Council states and preserving bilateral ties between the two countries.
The statement came hours after the Saudi-led Arab coalition carried out a limited airstrike targeting what it described as “foreign military support” at Mukalla port, days after it warned the STC, the main separatist group in southern Yemen, against military moves in Hadramout.
Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki said two vessels arriving from the UAE’s Fujairah port entered Mukalla port on Saturday and Sunday “without obtaining official permits from the Joint Forces Command of the coalition, as the crews of the two vessels disabled the ships’ tracking systems and unloaded a large quantity of weapons and combat vehicles to support the STC’s forces.”
Saudi state media quoted the coalition as saying the Mukalla port strike caused no deaths, injuries, or collateral damage.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council head, Rashad Al-Alimi, said Yemen could not withstand the opening of new fronts. He called on UAE forces to leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours, and announced the cancellation of Yemen’s joint defense agreement with the UAE and the imposition of a 72-hour air, sea, and land exclusion zone, while declaring a 90-day state of emergency that can be extended.
Al-Alimi said the southern issue was “just,” but that any exploitation of it to disrupt constitutional institutions or achieve illegitimate political objectives was “completely rejected.”
In a televised address, Al-Alimi said, “The STC has refrained from responding to our calls to resolve differences and reach decisions, and the UAE’s role has become directed against the Yemeni people,” while stressing the Yemeni government’s commitment to protect civilians in the eastern governorates and granting governors full authority to run the affairs of the two governorates.
For its part, the UAE had not responded through official statements or remarks by officials as of publication.
The STC was initially part of the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to confront the Houthi group, but the council’s position later shifted as it sought self-rule in the south.
Since 2022, the STC has been part of an alliance that controls southern areas outside Houthi control, under a Saudi-backed power-sharing initiative.
At present, UAE-backed STC forces control wide areas in the south, in addition to the strategically important governorate of Hadramout.
Hadramout lies on the border with Saudi Arabia and has cultural and historical ties with it, with many prominent Saudi figures tracing their origins back to the region.
The Houthis control the northern part of the country, including the capital Sanaa, after forcing the Saudi-backed government to flee south.
The coalition said Tuesday it will continue to “prevent the arrival of any military support from any country to any Yemeni component without coordination with Yemen’s legitimate government.”
