Gulf row threatens crisis

A SAUDI Arabian media campaign targeting the UAE has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fallout in the financial heart of the Middle East.

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UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, left, with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in New Delhi, on January 19 where they agreed to work towards a strategic defence partnership.

(AFP)

Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi air strikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists.

The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia's Al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report last week.

Such invective has been unheard of in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia and the UAE led a more than three-year diplomatic and trade blockade of Qatar over political differences beginning in 2017.

Under normal circumstances, the Gulf monarchies are at pains to project an image of peace and stability, but now longstanding points of friction “are out in the open in an unprecedented way’, Gulf security analyst Anna Jacobs said.

“The mudslinging on social media reminds many of us of the last Gulf rift... Now Riyadh is casting a very bright light on its problems with Abu Dhabi’ regional policies, and is showing no signs of easing up.”