JL;DR
Daily Podcasts Video Research
Politics · Israel

Saudi Arabia pivots from moderation

Summarizing Emily Jacobs in Jewish Insider · Published Wednesday, December 31, 2025
menu_book Read Original bookmark star

JL;DR SUMMARY Saudi Arabia is shifting its regional strategy, moving away from its traditional moderating role in the Middle East and closer to Islamist-aligned nations like Qatar and Turkey. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

JL;DR members get full summaries of all articles in the archive, including this one. Donate & start reading »

Tags

Mohammed Bin Salman  Saudi Arabia  Middle East  Turkey  Muslim Brotherhood  Uae  Yemen  Qatar  Normalisation 

Places mentioned

Saudi Arabia
"Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its regional posture in ways that are challenging long-held assumptions about Riyadhs role as a moderating force in the Middle East, as recent moves across Yemen, Sudan and the Horn of Africa expose the countrys widening rift with the United Arab Emirates and a growing alignment with Qatar and Turkey two countries with openly hostile positions toward Israel."
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
"Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its regional posture in ways that are challenging long-held assumptions about Riyadhs role as a moderating force in the Middle East, as recent moves across Yemen, Sudan and the Horn of Africa expose the countrys widening rift with the United Arab Emirates and a growing alignment with Qatar and Turkey two countries with openly hostile positions toward Israel."
Yemen
"The realignment has been most stark on the issue of Yemen, where Saudi Arabia led an airstrike on an Emirati shipment of vehicles on Tuesday which Riyadh claimed was intended for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has consolidated power in the countrys south as Saudi-backed efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation have stalled."
United Arab Emirates
"The realignment has been most stark on the issue of Yemen, where Saudi Arabia led an airstrike on an Emirati shipment of vehicles on Tuesday which Riyadh claimed was intended for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has consolidated power in the countrys south as Saudi-backed efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation have stalled."
Sudan
"The Saudis decision to embrace Islamist-aligned factions in Sudan, where the UAE is aligned with rival forces, has caused additional fissures with the Emiratis, putting the two U.S. allies and Gulf power players at odds."
Somalia
"The Gulf states have also taken opposite sides on Somalia, with the UAE quietly supportive of Somaliland, while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for recognizing its independence and Israels Channel 12 reported that the move threatened the chances of Riyadh and Jerusalem establishing diplomatic relations."
Doha, Qatar
"Mahmoud said that the Saudi-UAE divergence has also expanded because of the Saudis softened stance on Qatar, something she argued reflects the kingdoms acknowledgement of Dohas growing influence both in the region and globally, specifically pointing to Qatars positive standing with the Trump administration."
Turkey
"Since 9/11, and especially since MBS came to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia made enormous effort to distance itself away from Muslim Brotherhood and Islamism, Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. Now, Saudi is getting closer to all Islamist, anti-Israel, anti-West governments, whether its Iran and Pakistan or Qatar and Turkey."
Jerusalem, Israel
"The Gulf states have also taken opposite sides on Somalia, with the UAE quietly supportive of Somaliland, while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for recognizing its independence and Israels Channel 12 reported that the move threatened the chances of Riyadh and Jerusalem establishing diplomatic relations."
Iran
"Since 9/11, and especially since MBS came to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia made enormous effort to distance itself away from Muslim Brotherhood and Islamism, Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. Now, Saudi is getting closer to all Islamist, anti-Israel, anti-West governments, whether its Iran and Pakistan or Qatar and Turkey."
Pakistan
"Since 9/11, and especially since MBS came to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia made enormous effort to distance itself away from Muslim Brotherhood and Islamism, Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. Now, Saudi is getting closer to all Islamist, anti-Israel, anti-West governments, whether its Iran and Pakistan or Qatar and Turkey."
India
"There have been two alliances competing in the region: A radical Islamist one led by Turkey and Qatar and allied with Iran and Pakistan and a moderate one led by Israel and UAE and allied with India, Greece and Cyprus, Abdul-Hussain said."
Greece
"There have been two alliances competing in the region: A radical Islamist one led by Turkey and Qatar and allied with Iran and Pakistan and a moderate one led by Israel and UAE and allied with India, Greece and Cyprus, Abdul-Hussain said."
Cyprus
"There have been two alliances competing in the region: A radical Islamist one led by Turkey and Qatar and allied with Iran and Pakistan and a moderate one led by Israel and UAE and allied with India, Greece and Cyprus, Abdul-Hussain said."
United Kingdom
"Nervana Mahmoud, a political commentator based in the U.K., told JI that while its very difficult to read the strategic decisions within the kingdom because they dont announce plans I noticed a shift in the Saudi [posture] from mid-2024."
Syria
"Mahmoud pointed to Saudi Arabias engagement in Syria where Riyadh has supported efforts to rehabilitate Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and encourage engagement with the Trump administration, despite Al-Sharaas Islamist background."
United States
"These actions, taken together, have raised questions about Riyadhs role as a moderating force in the region and potential partner for normalization with Israel."
Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"There was a period from 2017 to 2021 where the Saudis, Emiratis and Bahrainis completely isolated Qatar because they considered the Qataris as sponsoring the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Muslim Brotherhood meant harm to the political systems in Saudi and UAE and Bahrain, Edmun Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former British diplomat who served in Kuwait, told JI."

Support this source

newspaper Subscribe to Jewish Insider
This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 71684
Cairo Source ID 43
Retrieved 2026-01-01 05:30:58 UTC
Curated 2026-01-01 08:30:43 UTC