Who controls Yemen now and why it matters
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yemen’s conflict is entering yet another volatile chapter, not towards peace, but into a sharper power struggle. Former partners Saudi Arabia and the UAE are drifting apart, local factions are recalculating, and control of the south and east hangs in the balance, while the Houthis hold firm in the north. As alliances fracture and air power looms, millions of civilians remain hungry and displaced. What future is being decided over their heads?
In this episode:
- Abubakr Al-Shamahi, Al Jazeera Editor
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Melanie Marich with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Sarí el-Khalili, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker and Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, the war in Yemen at another crossroads. |
| 0:14.3 | In Yemen, long simmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have burst into the open... |
| 0:21.6 | How Yemenis got caught up in a conflict between two great powers in the region and where they go from here. |
| 0:28.6 | I'm Kevin Hurtin, and this is the take. |
| 0:33.6 | Before we continue with today's show, |
| 0:42.7 | remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think about this episode, |
| 0:46.1 | and importantly, what you'd like you to see us do next. |
| 0:49.5 | Or if you're on your podcast app, leave us a review telling us where you're listening from, |
| 0:54.0 | and please give us |
| 0:55.0 | a five-star rating while you're at it. |
| 0:56.6 | It does help the show. |
| 1:00.3 | My name is Abu Bakrashamahi. |
| 1:02.5 | I'm an editor with Aljazeera.com, and I'm based in North Carolina. |
| 1:07.2 | Born and raised in the UK, but my family originally from Yemen, so I followed Yemen closely |
| 1:12.2 | over my career as well as the wider region, and that's why this topic is so interesting |
| 1:17.7 | because it doesn't just encompass Yemen. It encompasses the wider region, it encompasses Saudi |
| 1:22.8 | but the UAE and will possibly have an impact on other countries as well. |
| 1:30.6 | So Abu Bakr, welcome to the take. |
| 1:36.0 | It is really great to have you on because there's been so much news lately about Yemen and also so much news happening in the region that's indirectly tied to Yemen. |
| 1:40.0 | So it would be really nice to drill down with you. |
| 1:43.2 | And I would say that the basic frame of our discussion today is this, the sort of shorthand, |
... |
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