According to reports from Reuters and other foreign media on May 12, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have conducted undisclosed military strikes against Iran during the ongoing Middle East war. The UAE targeted Iran's oil facilities on Lavan Island in the Gulf in early April, while Saudi Arabia reportedly mobilized its air force to strike Iran at the end of March.
This marks the first time Saudi Arabia has been reported to have carried out military actions directly on Iranian territory. Although specific strike locations have not been confirmed, Western officials suggest that Saudi Arabia's actions were in response to Iranian attacks aimed at the kingdom.
There are also reports that the UAE coordinated some of its attacks with Israel. The Times of Israel, citing Bloomberg, reported that the UAE struck Iran around April 8, just before and after a ceasefire, with one operation being a coordinated response to an attack on Iran's Borouge petrochemical facility.
These revelations indicate that the conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, has expanded beyond what was publicly acknowledged. Since the outbreak of hostilities, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Targets have included U.S. military bases, civilian infrastructure, airports, and oil facilities, disrupting global trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Escalating Tensions in the Middle East
The Guardian reported that the UAE's previously undisclosed military actions against Iran suggest that some Gulf nations may become more deeply involved in conflicts with Iran. Newsweek noted that if the attacks by the UAE and Saudi Arabia are confirmed, it could provoke retaliation from Iran, leading to increased instability across the Gulf region.
Indeed, tensions in the Gulf are spilling over into other countries. According to Al Jazeera, Kuwaiti authorities announced earlier this month that they had detained four members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who had infiltrated the island of Bubiyan. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry stated that these individuals had entered the country with hostile intentions, prompting them to summon the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest.
However, Iran has denied Kuwait's claims. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that allegations of planning hostile actions against Kuwait are baseless, asserting that the individuals entered Kuwaiti waters due to a malfunction in their navigation system while on a maritime patrol.
On the same day, Bahrain's prosecution announced that over 20 individuals linked to espionage activities for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had been sentenced to prison. As military and security tensions between Gulf nations and Iran continue to surface, regional instability is on the rise.
Conversely, following Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on Iran, diplomatic channels have been activated, leading to a reduction in hostilities between the two nations. Some analysts argue that active retaliation by Middle Eastern countries could contribute to regional stability. Ali Vaez, head of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, noted that Saudi Arabia's attacks on Iran and subsequent negotiations demonstrate a shared interest in restraining the conflict before it escalates further in the region.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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