Did Saudi Arabia secretly shoot down Iranian drones in the 12-day war with Israel?

Saudi Arabia, which professed a public stance against Israel's attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, may have discreetly aided Israel in intercepting Iranian drones during the 12-day war, according to a report. There were allegations earlier too that the kingdom could have allowed Israel to shoot down missiles in their airspace, besides cooperating on surveillance.

 

The Saudi Arabian Air Force deployed military helicopters to intercept and destroy Iranian drones in regional airspace, including over Iraq and Jordan, according to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom. The drones, which could have continued on their way to Israel, were shot down before entering the country's territory to defend Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity.

 

Riyadh had earlier stressed that it would not allow its airspace to be used to attack targets on Iranian soil and was among the 20 other Muslim-majority nations to condemn the attack. The country had called Iran "a brotherly nation" in the statement, a term usually reserved only for fellow Arab countries. Iranians are Persians. 

 

During the 12-day war, Jordan was the only country to publicly speak of participating in drone interception operations. It attributed the action to "self-defence" and stated some of these drones on its territory had caused damage that required a response.

 

However, Saudi Arabia, which was one of the foes of the Islamic Republic till recently, made no such statement. 

 

"Saudi Arabia is pursuing a completely different course. Unofficially, Saudi Arabia is participating in the action against Iran," Stefan Lukas, founder of the Germany-based consultancy, Middle East Minds, told DW. 

 

He added that there was a security cooperation between the Saudis and Israelis. "Saudi Arabia provides radar data and tolerates [airspace] access by Israeli aircraft, especially in the northern part of the country where Iranian missiles primarily fly through. We've seen that Saudi Arabia is actually very accommodating to Israel," he added.

 

With regard to military power, Saudi Arabia has one of the most powerful armies in the region, its weapons mostly sourced from the US. It has a strong defence cooperation with the US, since signing a major arms deal with Donald Trump in 2017. The agreement was also expanded during a recent visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 

The kingdom also announced the launch of the first group of the US THAAD missile defence system in the country on Thursday. These systems are used to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence announced that this action is aimed at strengthening the country's air force and protecting its strategic area.

Middle East