Dubai/Moscow, 29 October

The United Arab Emirates is covertly providing targeting assistance to the Houthis in Yemen to allow them to strike Saudi targets in Yemen, a report said. Separately, Russia has been providing the Houthis with satellite data to help them target oil infrastructure in the Kingdom, according to a research organisation.

UAE-HOUTHIS

The UAE and Saudi Arabia went to war as allies against the Houthis in 2015. But after the conflict froze in 2022, the UAE slowly began backing the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen, which sought to secede, while Saudi backed the internationally recognised government. Dubai’s move angered the Saudis, who then launched airstrikes at UAE-linked groups in Yemen in 2025. This is a key reason why the UAE has been largely absent during the Houthi offensive this year.

Sources told independent news organisation Drop Site News that commanders loyal to the UAE have been directly communicating with the Houthis, sharing intel on Saudi-linked targets in Yemen. However, there has been no sharing of targets in Saudi Arabia. 

A Yemeni source told the outlet that the UAE passed a “significant amount of intelligence” to Houthi authorities in Sanaa.

The STC, meanwhile, is not engaged in battling with the Houthis. Emirati sources told Drop Site that the group has not been involved in fighting the Houthis, nor communicating with it.

RUSSIA-HOUTHIS

Meanwhile, Russia has been providing satellite support of Saudi’s oil infrastructure to the Houthis, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The group noted that Russian satellites hover over the Kingdom and have been instrumental in helping the Houthis launch drones at the crucial East-West as well as refineries.

The group and the AP have reported that these are not isolated cases – Russian satellites have been spotted over the Kingdom in the days leading up to and after the Houthis launched strikes at its infrastructure, indicating that they were on a reconnaissance mission.

“What we found is a 100 per cent match between the satellite activities and strikes,” Nawaf Obaid, founder of analytic firm AURORAH Geosignal Intelligence, said.

EXTRAORDINARY CASES?

Russia aiding the Houthis is just as extraordinary a finding as is the report that UAE is helping the Iranian-backed rebels. The UAE, an Israeli ally, is naturally against the Houthis, but is sensing an opportunity to move against Saudi dominance there. Russia, meanwhile, appears to be looking to keep oil prices high; countries will follow the US’ step and buy Moscow’s crude and gas.

Notably, external support for the Houthis doesn’t absolve Saudi of its woeful military presence. It had vastly exaggerated the number of troops the coalition forces had in Yemen, which is also a reason why the Houthis were able to launch the sweeping offensive and seize much of the Red Sea coast. And Riyadh’s decision to turn off air sirens because they were disrupting public life led to the deaths of 14 members during a strike on the King Khalid International Airport.