IntelBrief: New Violence Jeopardizes Yemen Peace Deal

Bottom Line Up Front

• Recent attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi movement and the Gulf state-backed Republic of Yemen Government forces have eroded a tacit ceasefire and clouded the prospects for a political solution.
• The expectations of international diplomats that a March rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran would yield an end to the Yemen war have been frustrated.
• The Houthis appear to have resumed at least some limited armed drone strikes on infrastructure targets in Saudi Arabia, despite Iran’s pledges to restrain the Houthis’ attacks.
• Saudi Arabia seeks an end to the Yemen conflict in order to focus on the Kingdom’s ambitious economic goals, but its key ally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), wants to ensure that it can continue to use bases in Yemen to project power in the region.