UAE vice president meets Saudi crown prince MBS in Riyadh

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) met United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. According to Arab News, MBS and Al Nahyan discussed 'bilateral relations and developments in the region', adding that the two leaders also reviewed relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Earlier in the day, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman received Al Nahyan, Saudi state media reported, as Saudi Arabia faces increasing pressure from the Houthis, who have fired salvos of missiles and drones at the kingdom. The UAE withdrew from Yemen earlier this year after Saudi Arabia accused it of backing a military operation by Yemeni separatists that it said ?posed a national security threat to the kingdom. UAE state news agency WAM said Sheikh Mansour would travel to the kingdom in a 'fraternal visit' ?upon the extended invitation, without providing further details. Saudi Arabia has been trying to rally international support ?to confront the Houthis, but it was not immediately clear if that request ?extended to the UAE. The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen's capital since 2014, seized the country's Red Sea coast this month in a lightning advance that routed forces of an internationally recognised Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and based in the south. Saudi Arabia has launched hundreds of strikes in recent days on the fighters' positions in the highlands, according to the Houthis. But the air power advantage has so far done little to slow the advance of the fighters as Saudi-backed government forces have melted away. The Houthis aim to secure the rear of their forces around the Bab al-Mandab Strait leading into the Red Sea by taking control of the heights, which would allow them to open new fronts, according to the sources. That would help protect exposed positions the Houthis captured during their advance around Dhubab on the Red Sea and on Perim Island in the strait. The Houthis' newfound control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait risks cutting off the main alternative route that Saudi Arabia has used for oil exports that bypass disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. On September 24, Saudi Arabia intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles after issuing warnings for several regions, including Makkah.