One source described them as “tit-for-tat strikes in response to attacks Saudi Arabia had suffered.”
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Saudi Arabia carried out covert airstrikes inside Iran during the recent war after coming under attack itself, according to Reuters, which cited two Western sources and two Iranian sources who said the kingdom launched the operations in response to Iranian attacks.
The report said the previously undisclosed strikes marked the first known Saudi attacks on Iranian territory.
According to the sources, the Saudi Air Force operations took place at the end of March.
One source described them as “tit-for-tat strikes in response to attacks Saudi Arabia had suffered.”
The conflict reportedly exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi Arabia’s defense posture despite the kingdom’s close military relationship with the United States and its longstanding reliance on American protection.
The report said attacks during the war penetrated the US security “umbrella” protecting the Gulf kingdom.
The Saudi operations came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates had also conducted strikes in Iran during the war.
Reuters said the actions by Saudi Arabia and the UAE reflected a broader Gulf response to Iranian attacks, though the two countries adopted different approaches.
The UAE took a more hawkish position aimed at imposing a cost on Iran and engaged only rarely in public diplomacy with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, sought to avoid further escalation while maintaining ongoing communication with Iranian officials, including through Iran’s ambassador in Riyadh, who did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Western and Iranian sources said Saudi Arabia informed Iran after carrying out the strikes.
Intensive diplomatic contacts followed, alongside Saudi threats of additional retaliation, eventually producing understandings between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions.
The unofficial de-escalation arrangement took effect about a week before Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire on April 7.
