Air traffic at Yemen's Aden international airport was halted on Thursday as tensions persisted between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two Gulf powers whose rivalry is reshaping war-torn Yemen.

Saudi Arabia says it bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla over a shipment of weapons for a separatist force that arrived from the United Arab Emirates.

Yemen’s Aden International Airport has suspended all flights after new Saudi-backed restrictions on air traffic triggered a standoff with UAE-aligned authorities in the south.

Saudi Arabia publicly accused close ally the United Arab Emirates of “highly dangerous” actions in Yemen as it led “limited” airstrikes on the country’s Mukalla port Tuesday morning following accusations that two ships from the UAE had delivered weapons and combat vehicles to separatist forces.

Riyadh was infuriated. It bombed the shipment, publicly accused the UAE of supporting the Yemeni faction’s offensive and called for Abu Dhabi to pull its remaining troops from the war-torn state. The UAE rejected the Saudi allegations but said it would withdraw its forces as it sought to de-escalate the crisis.

Saudi Arabia launched strikes on December 30 on military vehicles in Mukalla, Yemen, that it said the United Arab Emirates had illegally shipped there to support the separatist Southern Transitional Council in eastern Yemen - a claim the UAE denied.

Saudi Arabia's January 2026 foreign ownership law seeks to attract property investment amid Dubai's supply glut, focusing on religious-tourism niches and family-oriented Muslim investors rather than competing directly with Dubai's cosmopolitan positioning.

The UAE announced it's ending its military presence in Yemen after its close ally, Saudi Arabia, bombed separatists backed by the UAE.

Separatists from Yemen's Southern Transitional Council said on Thursday that Saudi-aligned government forces would enter territories seized by the UAE-backed group, in a step that appeared unlikely to satisfy Riyadh after it repeatedly demanded their full withdrawal.

Relations are entering an openly confrontational phase, with disputes over Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Israel threatening to redraw alliances