(Times Of Israel) Several Gulf States, among them Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, passed on intelligence about Iran’s plans to attack Israel, providing vital information that was key to the success of the air defense measures that almost entirely thwarted the massive assault, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday citing Saudi, US, and Egyptian officials.
The cooperation was spearheaded by the US, which has for years been striving to form an informal military partnership to counter threats from Iran, the report said.
Overnight Saturday-Sunday Iran launched hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles alongside hundreds of drones at Israel. Yet by Sunday morning, the Israel Defense Forces, backed by the US and other allies, were able to confirm that some 99% of the incoming threats were downed, and the handful that made it through caused only minor damage.
While it was already known that Jordan actively participated in the downing of drones heading to Israel through its airspace, the Journal report for the first time revealed the scope of joint activities stretching across the region, and that included countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel.
The report cited officials as saying that the success in stopping so many drones and missiles was due to Arab countries having passed on intelligence about the Iranian plan, as well as enabling the use of their airspace and providing radar tracking. In some cases, Arab militaries took an active role in intercepting the threats and “supplied their own forces to help” the report said, indicating that Jordan was not the only Arab nation to do so.
The full role played by Saudi Arabia and “other key Arab governments” is being kept quiet, according to the report.
Tehran had vowed to avenge seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals, who were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1. It was a major escalation of ongoing fighting along Israel’s northern border amid near-daily attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.
After the April 1 strike and Iran’s threats to retaliate, US officials began pushing Arab governments for intelligence about Iran’s plans for revenge and for help with intercepting an attack, Saudi and Egyptian officials told the Journal.
Initially, some Arab governments were hesitant, fearing that by helping Israel they would come into direct conflict with Iran or face reprisals. In addition, some were wary about being seen as aiding Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which began with the Palestinian terror group’s devastating attack on Israel, and which has been the impetus for the spiking regional tensions.
However, eventually, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates agreed to privately pass on information while Jordan agreed to let the US and “other countries’ warplanes” use its airspace. Jordan also said it would use its own jets to intercept missiles and drones, the officials said.
They said that two days before the attack, Iranian officials told Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states about the profile of the response they were planning against Israel and its timing in order that those countries could secure their own airspace. That information was passed on to the US, providing vital details for the US and Israeli defense plans.
As the attack became imminent, Washington ordered the deployment of aircraft and missile defense systems in the region and coordinated defense between Israel and Arab governments, a senior Israeli official told the Journal.
“The challenge was to bring all those countries around Israel” despite its regional isolation, the official said. “It was a diplomatic issue.”
According to the report, missiles and drones were immediately tracked after launch by radars in Persian Gulf countries via a US operations center in Qatar. The information was beamed to fighter jets from “several countries” in the air over Jordan and other countries, as well as to warships and Israel’s missile defense units.
