US 'scrambled jets' in response to Iran threat against Saudis: report

The US scrambled its jets in response to an alleged imminent Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia last week, according to The Washington Post. 

On 1 November, The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia had shared intelligence with Washington warning of a likely Iranian attack on the kingdom.

It is unclear where the jets were scrambled from, but the US maintains significant military assets in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.

"We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis," the US National Security Council said at the time. "We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region."

The US declined to comment on the specific actions taken in response to the threat. 

A spokesperson for the US Central Command, which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, told The Washington Post it is "committed to our long-standing strategic military partnership with Saudi Arabia", but that "we will not discuss operational details".

Tehran denied Riyadh's allegations of a planned strike on Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said his country's "policy is based on mutual respect and international principles" and that it "continues its policy of good neighbourliness".

The US and Saudi Arabia have had a rocky relationship in recent months. It was further strained by the Saudi-led OPEC+ bloc decision to lower oil production, a move which was widely criticised in Washington.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly been targeted by drones, missiles and mortars in recent years launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Riyadh has formed a coalition and intervened in Yemen’s civil war against the Houthis in 2015, and has been internationally criticised for killing dozens of civilians.