Risk of Iran Conflict Forces U.S. Gulf Ally to Rethink Policy
- Yemeni prime minister told in palace meeting of war drawdown
- Crown princes of Abu Dhabi, Saudi have overseen policy shift
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The sumptuous palace in Abu Dhabi was a world away from the shattered homeland he’d left behind. But as the former architect who was now prime minister of Yemen arrived in June for talks with a crucial ally, a more seismic jolt awaited.
Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed had come to the United Arab Emirates wanting cash to get his government through the next stage of its four-year war with Iran-backed rebels who control the Yemeni capital and swaths of territory. Instead, he was bluntly told that the U.A.E. would withdraw its troops from the conflict by the end of the year.