First it was revealed this week that UAE had directly attacked Iran in retaliatory strikes earlier in Operation Epic Fury, and now it has come to light that the Saudis did the same, and in multiple strike operations. Reuters reports Tuesday that “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 report continues. “The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials said,” Reuters notes further. One of the sources described these military actions as “tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi Arabia was hit.” The revelation suggests that even as the Trump White House tried to present this is a very limited war, or even a mere US “excursion” – as Trump previously said, it was on the brink of spiralling into an all-out regional war involving Gulf allies hitting back directly [...]
