A prominent Serbian security expert has called on President Donald Trump to intervene urgently in escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He warned that Riyadh's alleged embrace of extremist narratives could destabilize the Middle East and undermine American strategy in the region.
In an op-ed published by EUalive, Dr. Zoran Dragisic — a full professor and vice dean at the Faculty of Security Studies at the University of Belgrade — argued that what appears to be a rivalry between two wealthy Gulf monarchies is in fact a deeper ideological confrontation between "modernity and extremism."
Dragisic situates the dispute in the broader regional context following the Gaza ceasefire and the post-conflict political process now unfolding after the October 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent military campaign.
As diplomatic efforts gain momentum, he warns that growing friction between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi threatens to derail fragile stabilization efforts.
At the heart of the confrontation, he wrote, is a widening rift between the leadership models of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Under Trump, Washington has sought to consolidate Arab-Israeli normalization through the Abraham Accords, first signed in 2020.
The UAE's decision to formalize relations with Israel marked a historic realignment and cemented its status as one of Washington's closest regional partners.
Dragisic praised the UAE under Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a model of pragmatic modernization.
He credited Abu Dhabi with investing heavily in artificial intelligence, innovation, and economic diversification, transforming the country into what he described as a global hub of development and tolerance in an often volatile region.
In contrast, he contended that Saudi Arabia, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has struggled to match the UAE's pace and consistency of reform.
While Riyadh has introduced ambitious economic initiatives and sought to enhance its soft power, Dragisic said that it has not fully reckoned with its own extremist legacy.
The professor linked the recent escalation to bin Salman's November 2025 visit to Washington, during which the Saudi leader reportedly sought U.S. sanctions against the UAE over its alleged support for opposing factions in Sudan's civil conflict.
Although no sanctions were imposed, Dragisic said that a coordinated media and social media campaign soon followed, with extremist networks accusing the Emiratis of betraying Islam through cooperation with Israel.
"These are not merely rhetorical attacks," Dragisic wrote. "They revive narratives of hatred, revenge, and holy war."
He warned that framing the UAE's diplomatic normalization as apostasy risks empowering radical Islamist actors across the region and beyond.
The rivalry between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is already visible in proxy conflicts in Yemen and Sudan, where the two powers have backed opposing sides.
But Dragisic insists these battlefields are symptoms rather than causes. The deeper issue, he argued, is Saudi Arabia's willingness to instrumentalize religious extremism as a geopolitical tool.
Such rhetoric, he cautioned, could have global consequences. In an interconnected security environment, extremist messaging originating in the Gulf could inspire attacks not only in the Middle East but also in Europe, the Balkans, and the United States.
Dragisic also referenced the lingering shadow of the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, which severely damaged Saudi Arabia's international standing.
Bin Salman's recent warm reception in Washington, he suggested, signaled political rehabilitation for the crown prince — but may also have emboldened Riyadh to pursue a more assertive regional posture.
While the Trump administration remains focused on countering Iran, he said that it must simultaneously address tensions between its two most important Arab allies.
"The United States bears the primary responsibility for mitigating this wave of destabilization," he wrote, urging President Trump to establish clear red lines and prevent further ideological escalation.
Ultimately, Dragisic frames the Saudi-UAE confrontation as a defining test for the region's future: whether a model of state-led modernization and religious tolerance will prevail, or whether short-term political maneuvering and revived extremist narratives will once again plunge the Middle East into turmoil.
As postwar reconstruction efforts begin and diplomatic openings emerge, he said, Washington's response may determine whether de-escalation holds — or whether a new and more dangerous chapter of regional rivalry unfolds.
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