Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.
The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.
The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials said. One said only that they were “tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi (Arabia) was hit.”
Reuters was unable to confirm what the specific targets were.
In response to a request for comment, a senior Saudi foreign ministry official did not address directly whether strikes had been carried out.
The Iranian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia, which has a deep military relationship with the United States, has traditionally relied on U.S. military for protection, but the 10-week war has left the kingdom vulnerable to attacks that have pierced the U.S. military umbrella.
The United Arab Emirates also carried out military strikes on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Together, the Saudi and Emirati actions reveal a conflict whose true shape has remained largely hidden, one in which Gulf monarchies battered by Iranian attacks began hitting back.
But their approach has not been identical. The UAE has taken a more hawkish stance, seeking to extract a cost from Iran and engaging only rarely in public diplomacy with Tehran.
