The UAE and Saudi Arabia have denied reports of talks with the U.S. over a potential ground offensive in Yemen, dismissing the claims as false and unsubstantiated amid ongoing tensions with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
A senior UAE official strongly rejected the reports, describing them as baseless, while a Saudi source similarly dismissed the claims as false.
The denials follow a Wall Street Journal report earlier this week alleging that Yemeni factions were planning an offensive along the Red Sea coast to capitalize on recent U.S. airstrikes targeting the Houthis. The report also suggested that the UAE had raised this plan with American officials. Bloomberg later reported that anti-Houthi Yemeni forces were engaged in discussions with the U.S. and Gulf allies about a possible ground operation.
Responding to the reports, Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Assistant Minister for Political Affairs, told Reuters, “Among all the wild unsubstantiated stories going around, that one surely wins the misleading-news-of-the-week award, by a wide margin.”
The Pentagon has not yet commented on the matter.
The UAE was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that launched a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who had taken control of the capital, Sanaa, the previous year. The UAE largely withdrew its forces in 2019, and major hostilities subsided following a truce and peace talks in 2022. Since then, the Houthis have retained control over significant territory and much of Yemen's population.
The Houthi movement, aligned with Iran and staunchly opposed to Israel, began targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in November 2023, claiming it was in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza conflict. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump escalated airstrikes in March, warning the group of severe consequences if the attacks continued.
Despite years of military pressure, including sustained airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis have maintained their positions on the front lines. The Red Sea coast, the focus of the reported offensive, was previously the site of a major but ultimately unsuccessful attempt by coalition forces to seize the strategic port of Hodeidah from Houthi control.
Coalition efforts in Yemen have long been complicated by internal divisions among Yemeni factions, including Sunni Islamist groups and southern separatists. Analysts note that Saudi Arabia and the UAE backed different factions during the conflict.
Saudi Arabia began scaling back its involvement in Yemen after the 2022 ceasefire, which preceded its broader diplomatic thaw with Iran.
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brut...
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called on citizens to stand united as the United States increases its military presence in the Caribbean, accu...
AnewZ marks its first year — a short span in time, yet a period defined by meaningful progress, steady purpose, and a growing voice in global journa...
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Germany plans to deport Syrian citizens with criminal records and has invited Syrian President Ahmed al-...
Pakistan’s military has dismissed claims that it holds an agreement with the United States permitting attacks on Afghanistan from its territory....
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military prison.
AnewZ marks its first year — a short span in time, yet a period defined by meaningful progress, steady purpose, and a growing voice in global journalism.
Pakistan’s military has dismissed claims that it holds an agreement with the United States permitting attacks on Afghanistan from its territory.
Since 8 August, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been making targeted efforts to consolidate progress and deepen dialogue, Armenian National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said at a conference in Brussels.
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon threatens to worsen the disaster.
Russia has launched its new nuclear-powered submarine, the Khabarovsk, at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, the Defence Ministry said Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe the United States is going to war with Venezuela despite growing tensions, though he suggested President Nicolás Maduro’s time in power may be nearing its end.
On October 21, 2025, an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) Gulfstream G650, call sign 4K-ASG, touched down at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. It was a historic event, commented many.
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military prison.
AnewZ marks its first year — a short span in time, yet a period defined by meaningful progress, steady purpose, and a growing voice in global journalism.
Since 8 August, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been making targeted efforts to consolidate progress and deepen dialogue, Armenian National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said at a conference in Brussels.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has announced that Germany will provide Ghana with €65 million (approximately $69 million) in development assistance.
Bella Culley, a pregnant British teenager jailed in Georgia for smuggling marijuana and hashish from Thailand, was freed on Monday (November 3) under a plea agreement.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment