Concerned About Escalation? Iran to Sharply Scale Back Attacks on Saudi Arabia

[The Financial News] The Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to significantly scale back the intensity of its attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) out of concern over a potential direct military retaliation by KSA, The Jerusalem Post reported on the 22nd (local time).
According to sources, Iran’s leadership believes that KSA’s posture for retaliation has reached a critical point. Since the war began, Iran has launched more than 430 missiles and drones targeting Saudi oil refinery facilities and air force bases. However, KSA is said to have recently issued an ultimatum-style warning that it would "directly strike Iranian territory if power and desalination facilities or other civilian infrastructure are attacked."
In particular, KSA has recently shifted its policy and is now allowing the United States to use bases on its soil for strikes against Iran, thereby increasing the pressure.
Iran plans to refrain from attacking KSA and to exclude the State of Qatar from its target list, but it intends to maintain its current level of attacks on Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is seen as an attempt to pursue a differentiated strategy among Gulf countries, depending on their stance and level of response.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, President of the United States, has further heightened tensions by threatening that he would "strike an Iranian power plant if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened." Iran has responded in kind, declaring that "if the United States attacks, we will retaliate by striking the Gulf countries’ energy facilities."
As the situation deteriorates, Gulf countries are reportedly pleading with President Trump to refrain from attacking any Iranian power plant, fearing that U.S. strikes would trigger Iranian retaliation against their own energy facilities and desalination facilities.

jjyoon@fnnews.com Yoon Jae-joon Reporter