What I want is for the text to read as follows:
> .eerht etontoof si sihT 3  .owt etontoof si sihT 2  .eno etontoof si sihT 1

where the entire frame begins at the right margin, such that the first footnote number (1) is in the right margin, instead of in the left margin as it is in r2l-yes.pdf. To say it another way, the entire footnote frame should be r2l, regardless of its contents, perhaps (as Idris wrote to me) through some hard direction switch for the entire frame.

Best wishes,
Talal