Saudi Arabia carried out multiple covert air strikes against Iran during the ongoing Middle East war, Reuters reported citing two Western and two Iranian officials, marking what appears to be an unprecedented act of direct military aggression by Riyadh against Tehran. The strikes, believed to have taken place in late March, were described as retaliation for earlier Iranian attacks on Saudi soil, which had targeted military bases, oil infrastructure, and airports; Saudi Arabia subsequently informed Iran of what had been hit and warned of further escalation before both sides agreed to de-escalate. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates also carried out air strikes on Iran, including an attack on a refinery on Lavan Island (a small Iranian island in the Persian Gulf) in early April that triggered a large fire and put the facility largely out of action — an incident that prompted Iran to launch retaliatory drone and missile strikes against the UAE and Kuwait.