UAE, Saudi ministers signal unity after months of tension

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UAE, Saudi ministers signal unity after months of tension

July 22, 2026

DUBAI,— Top officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates posted nearly identical messages on social media Tuesday, stressing their long shared history and “wise leadership.” The move comes after months of friction between the two Gulf powers.

Saudi Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosary and Abdulla bin Mohammed Alhamed, who chairs the UAE National Media Authority, each published their posts on X.

Alhamed wrote that ties between the two nations grow from a common history and strong brotherly bonds linking “two brotherly peoples, united by a single destiny.”

Al-Dosary described the bond between the two countries as one built on shared history, heritage and sound leadership on both sides. Both men said news coverage should reflect these strengths rather than weaken them.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the two largest economies in the Gulf, have drifted apart for years over issues ranging from oil production levels to broader regional politics.

Tensions became public late last year, driven by their support for rival sides in Yemen’s conflict.

That dispute peaked when Saudi forces struck what officials described as a shipment of UAE military supplies bound for an Abu Dhabi-backed faction in Yemen.

In the months since, prominent commentators and some outlets from both countries have taken part in unusually blunt public disputes. The UAE blocked the X accounts of Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya in March.

The countries also split over how to respond to the Iran conflict, which raised security concerns across the Gulf. In May, the UAE withdrew from OPEC, the oil cartel that Saudi Arabia largely guides.

Mohammed Baharoon, who leads the Dubai Public Policy Research Center, described the recent friction as temporary rather than a deep strategic break.

He said both sides have likely adjusted their approach, but their common interests still outweigh their differences.

Gulf officials have recently urged the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to stand together against Iranian aggression and new threats from Iran-backed Houthi forces targeting Red Sea shipping.

Saudi officials had not responded to written questions about what prompted Tuesday’s posts.

An hour before the media officials’ posts, Turki Alalshikh, a close aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, shared a photo on X that he said was taken a few days earlier.

The image showed Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin-Salman, the crown prince’s brother, standing arm in arm with UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both smiling.

He wrote that the photo captured “a story of brotherly relations and a deeply rooted partnership” between the two nations.

Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, responded by comparing the two countries to spears that “refuse to be broken” while joined, but “break if they part.”

(With files from Reuters)