The two Gulf heavyweights have seen their interests diverge on everything from oil quotas to geopolitical influence.

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

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.

Saudi Arabian air strikes on a southern Yemeni port targeted weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates to local separatist forces

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.

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.

A person gestures towards smoke rising in the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike, which targeted what it described as foreign military support to UAE-backed southern separatists, in Yemen's southern port of Mukalla, in this screengrab from a handout video obtained by Reuters on December 30, 2025. Aden al-Mustakillah TV/Handout via REUTERS

Oman's foreign minister met his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss finding a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, Oman's Foreign Ministry said.The meeting came a day after a Saudi-led strike on Yemen's southern port of Mukalla,