The report from Reuters came after The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE did the same
by Dave DeCamp | May 12, 2026 at 7:06 pm ET | Saudi Arabia, UAE
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes against Iran during the US-Israeli bombing campaign, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
The report came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE also launched direct attacks on Iran, including one that came after the ceasefire between the US and Iran came into effect.
The Reuters report, which cited Western and Iranian officials, said there was a different dynamic between Riyadh and Tehran than between Riyadh and the UAE.
“The UAE has taken a more hawkish stance, seeking to extract a cost from Iran and engaging only rarely in public diplomacy with Tehran,” the report said. “Saudi Arabia has meanwhile sought to prevent the conflict from escalating and has stayed in regular contact with Iran, including via Tehran’s ambassador in Riyadh.”
Officials said that the Saudis launched strikes against Iran in late March in response to Iranian attacks on Saudi territory and that Tehran was made aware of the strikes.
Officials said that Riyadh threatened to take a more hawkish approach and hit Iran harder, which led to a decrease in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia, which hosts US troops and has a close military relationship with Washington. Saudi Arabia maintains a fleet of US-made fighter jets, and Washington had previously backed a brutal Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen from 2015 to 2022.
The UAE is seen as being much more openly aligned with Israel due to the 2020 normalization agreement, known as the Abraham Accords, and Israel has reportedly deployed an Iron Dome air defense battery to the Gulf Arab state.
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