Saudi Arabia has publicly accused the United Arab Emirates – a fellow Gulf Arab state and former partner in the Yemen war – of undermining its national security, an unusually blunt charge that exposes a rift long kept behind closed doors.

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The UAE hasn't yet responded to the accusation. The situation further escalates tensions between the neighboring nations on the Arabian Peninsula.

Saudi-backed forces moved to capture a key southern Yemeni city on Thursday after Riyadh accused the UAE of helping a separatist leader flee.

There is unlikely to be any repeat of the trade boycott that hit Qatar in 2017 during its standoff with Gulf states, because there is simply too much at stake for both Saudi and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia apparently sees Pakistan and Egypt as the only countries, apart from Israel, leaning toward the UAE. This has left General Munir under enormous stress. He is reportedly trying to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but so far, no meeting has been granted. Adding to the tension, Saudi Arabia has canceled a major deal with Pakistan.

Comments come amid widening differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, once close partners.

When the United Arab Emirates withdrew its troops from Yemen last week under a deadline from Saudi Arabia, it also left behind the remote Yemeni island of Socotra and the roughly 600 tourists who had flown in but could no longer fly out.