2 Western officials and 2 Iranian officials said on May 13 that Saudi Arabia had conducted many secret attacks on Iran in response to attacks on them in the Middle East conflict.
According to sources, this is the first time Saudi Arabia has directly carried out military action on Iranian territory. The airstrikes conducted by the Saudi Arabian Air Force at the end of March were "tit-for-tit" after Saudi Arabia was attacked.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not comment directly on this information.
The regional conflict broke out after the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Since then, Iran has launched missiles and drones targeting all 6 countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, attacking US military bases, airports, oil facilities and civilian targets, and blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also launched military attacks on Iran. These moves show that many Gulf Arab countries have begun to respond after suffering attacks from Tehran.
While the UAE pursues a tougher stance, Saudi Arabia maintains regular contact with Iran to avoid escalating conflict. A Saudi Arabian official emphasized that Riyadh continues to pursue a policy of de-escalation and promoting regional stability.
Iranian and Western officials said that Saudi Arabia had informed Tehran about the attacks, after which the two sides strengthened diplomatic contact and reached an informal agreement to de-escalate tensions.
Mr. Ali Vaez - Director of the Iran project of International Crisis Group - said that Saudi Arabia's retaliation and then rapidly moving towards de-escalation shows that both sides understand that an out-of-control conflict will cause unacceptable losses.
According to Reuters, the number of missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia has decreased sharply after the two countries reached a common understanding. From more than 105 cases in the week of March 25 - 31, this number decreased to more than 25 cases in the period of March 1 - 6. 4.
