Saudi Arabia is confronting a strategic choice over whether to continue retaliatory strikes or seek to calm a widening regional conflict, according to BBC News.
The BBC reports that Riyadh has largely attempted to remain outside the war involving the US, Israel and Iran since 28 February. However, after attacks from multiple directions, Saudi Arabia this week joined the US in strikes on Iranian-backed militia targets in Iraq, which it believes have been involved in drone attacks on the kingdom.
The conflict described by the BBC broadly pits Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, alongside allied groups including the Houthis in Yemen and the Popular Mobilisation Forces in Iraq, against the US and, to varying degrees, Gulf Arab states and Jordan. Israel is described as a close US ally but not currently an active participant in the war.
Saudi Arabia’s caution is linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 programme, which seeks to reduce reliance on oil income and attract investment into new domestic industries. The BBC notes that infrastructure connected to those plans, including data centres, could be vulnerable if the kingdom faces sustained drone or missile threats.
The report also points to Saudi Arabia’s continuing exposure through its energy infrastructure. A 2019 attack on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities disrupted half of Saudi oil exports for several days. The BBC says satellite images showed the Abqaiq facility was again struck on Monday by drones launched by Iranian proxy militias in Iraq.
Oil export routes have added to the pressure. After Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli attacks, Saudi Arabia increased use of its east-west pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea. But Houthi attacks on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea have made passage through the Bab El Mandeb strait more dangerous, threatening another key route to Asian markets.
Saudi Arabia previously fought the Houthis for seven years before agreeing to an uneasy truce in 2022. The BBC reports that Riyadh now faces renewed threats from Yemen to the south and Iraq to the north, creating challenges not anticipated in its Vision 2030 plans.
