Saudi Arabia carried out covert strikes against Iran during the war - Reuters

Saudi Arabia has launched a series of non-public strikes against Iran in response to attacks carried out against the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western and two Iranian officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.

According to Western officials, the strikes in question were carried out by the Saudi Air Force in late March. One source characterized them as "mirror strikes for shelling Saudi territory." The attacks by the kingdom had not previously been reported. They were the first known instance of Saudi Arabia taking direct military action on Iranian territory, Reuters points out, noting that such moves indicate that Riyadh is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.

What exactly were the targets of the Saudi strikes in Iran, the Reuters interlocutors did not say. The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not respond to the agency's request.

Meanwhile, Iranian and Western officials told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had notified Iran of the impending strikes before the attack. This was followed by intense diplomatic engagement between the sides and Riyadh's threats to continue the attacks, which eventually led to an informal agreement to de-escalate the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported. That agreement, according to the agency's sources, went into effect a week before Washington and Tehran agreed to their own ceasefire on April 7. An Iranian official confirmed the agreement, saying the move was aimed at "ending hostility and protecting mutual interests."

Earlier, on Ma 11, the Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also launched military strikes against Iran, becoming another country that, in addition to the U.S. and Israel, has become directly involved in the conflict.

Since the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, the Iranian military has attacked all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states with missiles and drones, hitting not only U.S. military bases but also civilian facilities, airports, and oil infrastructure. The conflict has also virtually halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that in peacetime carried about 20 percent of the world's oil shipments by sea and a significant amount of LNG.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor