A major geopolitical shock is unfolding in Yemen as Saudi Arabia issues a final and unprecedented warning to UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces. After a rapid 10-day offensive, the STC has seized key oil fields, strategic coastal cities, and now controls more than 70% of Yemen’s oil reserves. Saudi leaders, including Major General Mohammad Al-Qahtani, have demanded the complete withdrawal of foreign-backed militias and the restoration of the previous security order in Hadhramaut. With UAE-backed militias pushing back Saudi-aligned troops and capturing critical regions, tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are reaching a breaking point. Many fear the internal rivalry could escalate into a major regional conflict, reshaping the balance of power in the Middle East.
00:27major shift in the Middle East, a warning so direct, so final, that many fear it could
00:34trigger the biggest internal conflict the Muslim world has seen in years.
00:40Saudi Arabia has issued what sources call a final warning to UAE-backed forces in Yemen.
00:46And if this warning is ignored, a full-scale war may be next.
00:51The flashpoint is Hadramat, Yemen's largest and most strategic province.
00:58On December 9th, a high-level Saudi delegation led by Major General Muhammad al-Qahtani arrived
01:04in the region with a message that left no room for misunderstanding.
01:09Al-Qahtani declared,
01:11Hadramat is a cornerstone, not a field for conflict, a clear demand for the immediate
01:18withdrawal of UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council forces, the STC, from oil fields and
01:24strategic cities they seized in a rapid and shocking offensive.
01:28Over just 10 days, the STC, armed and supported by the UAE, swept across southern Yemen, capturing
01:37Sioun on December 2nd, seizing Al-Qahtani and the Nishtun port by December 8th, pushing all
01:44the way to the Omani border.
01:46They took control of the Ekla oil facility and by December 9th, craned all eight governorates
01:52of the former South Yemen.
01:55The result, the STC now sits on over 70 percent of Yemen's oil reserves and the entire southern
02:03coastline, including the critical Bab al-Mandeep route.
02:09And through all of this, Saudi-aligned forces offered barely any resistance, a fact that has
02:15triggered rumors.
02:17Was there a secret deal?
02:19A miscommunication?
02:21Or has the Saudi-UAE partnership finally cracked open?
02:25The Saudis now insist on restoring the previous security order, handing Petra Maslila's oil
02:31facilities to the Saudi-backed Hatremont Protection Forces, and crucially, they have banned any foreign
02:38military presence, a direct shot at the UAE's proxies.
02:44On the ground, the human impact intensifies.
02:47Saudis report looting, raids, and mass displacement.
02:51In McCullough, crowds shouted, out, out, you thieves, at STC militias.
02:57Local tribes call for resistance against what they label invaders.
03:01The STC claims it is fighting terrorism and smuggling networks, hoisting the South Yemen flag over government buildings and organizing mass sit-ins.
03:11But to Saudi Arabia and the international community, this looks like secession in real time, a return to pre-1990 borders, and a direct threat to Yemen's fragile unity.
03:23Exiled Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad El Alimi has briefed Western diplomats, warning that the STC's moves undermine the legal status of the state.
03:34And under pressure from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, reports say Abu Dhabi has ordered limited STC withdrawals, but so far, little has changed on the ground.
03:46And so, we come back to al-Qahtani's words, words that now feel like the edge of a cliff, comply or face direct Saudi intervention.
03:58This crisis is not just a local power struggle.
04:01It is a proxy showdown between the region's two biggest Arab powers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, former allies who once fought together in the coalition against the Houthis, now divided by oil, ports, and geopolitical shadows.
04:19Analysts warn that if Saudi-UAE tensions boil over, the Houthis could exploit the chaos, escalating attacks across the Red Sea,
04:27and collapsing international ceasefire efforts.
04:32Tonight, Yemen's eastern regions sit on a knife's edge.
04:36Airspace closures, tribal mobilization, and an entire country bracing for what may come next.
04:44Saudi Arabia has made its position unmistakable.
04:48The last warning has been issued.
04:50And the question now is whether the region steps back from the brink, and whether a new, devastating war erupts, one that could pull in the entire Muslim world.
05:02The flood has not begun.
05:05But the last dam is cracking.
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