Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Saudis tests clearing skies for Israel to bomb Iran: report
Report says Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to allow Israeli jets to bomb Iran
- AFP
- Published: 14:15 June 12, 2010
- Image Credit: Gulf News
London: Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to allow Israeli jets to use its airspace in a bombing raid on Iran's nuclear facilities, The Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
"The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way," a US defence source in the area told the paper.
"They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren't scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the (US) State Department."
Israel, which regards Iran as its principal threat, has refused to rule out using military action to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation.
The Times said Riyadh, which views Iran as a regional threat, had agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance in the event of any bombing raid on Iran.
A source in Saudi Arabia said the arrangement was common knowledge within defence circles in the kingdom.
"We all know this. We will let them [the Israelis] through and see nothing," the source told The Times.
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