A report in Tel Aviv's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday said that the Saudi authorities have made it known that they will not allow their airspace to be used for any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities by Israel, the U.S, or any other country.
The warning was passed to high ranks in the sraeli authorities through U.S. envoys, during their recent talks with Israeli officials in Jerusalem.
According to the report, in spite of the warning, the Israeli government hoped that the United States would convince Saudi Arabia to ease the passage of Israeli fighter jets in its airspace on their way to Iran.
Meanwhile, Israeli sources claim that for military officials in Israel, this information is a new attempt by Washington to prevent an imminent Israeli operation against Tehran's nuclear facilities without Washington's permission.
Furthermore, UPI reported that other unnamed sources quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth said: "They believe Saudi will open its airspace if there was coordination with Washington for the strike; in this case Israel would not carry out this military operation by itself."
However, as a result of the warning, the report said, Israeli officials are now concerned that they will have to find out another way to avoid a battle with the Saudi air force if the southern route is chosen. Other option for the Israeli jets would be to fly through Jordan and Iraq. It's worth mentioning that Saudi use American weapons and most of American military technology.
For his part, the Israeli defense minister denied getting such Saudi messages. He added that in any case, such a Saudi move "will not change Israeli plans."
Earlier this week, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Channel 10 news that Israel will not and cannot allow Iran to build nuclear weapons.
The latest visits of American officials to Israel, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser Thomas E. Donilon, presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have increased speculations that the diplomatic level discussions with Tehran are reaching the point of no return, as there is a strong possibility that Israel may hit Iran before the next American elections.
Lately, Israel developed its missile interception program, which means the military strike against Iran nuclear facilities could come sooner than expected.
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