Is Saudi Arabia considering strikes against Iran?

Saudi Arabian F-15's. Reuters.

Saudi Arabia is considering options for striking back at Iran for their attack on a Saudi oil production facility. Stratfor. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia are making the case that Iran was responsible for the attack, but so far a response hasn't been launched. Saudi Arabia's options are limited, as a full scale war would likely not go well due to the threat of damage to their oil based economy. But doing nothing will likely embolden Iran due to the fact that they are lashing out due to US sanctions, which the Saudis have little control over. The Saudis also have to factor in the lack of will for strikes coming from the United States. The Saudis could launch a tit-for-tat attack on Iran's oil infrastructure or strike at Iranian proxies, but so far no strikes have been seen. 

My Comment:

The Saudis are in a very bad position. They really aren't in control of their foreign policy as I think they would like to deescalate but they have nothing to offer the Iranians. The Iranians are mad about US sanctions, which are crippling their economy and the Saudis can't do much to stop that. 

But they also can't attack Iran either. They do have the ability to do so, like the article said they have long range strike capabilities that won't be intercepted by Iran. But if they do and they don't get US support their oil industry will be trashed in a conflict they don't really want. 

Plus, it's not like there is any guarantee that they would win any conflict with Iran. I was not impressed by the huge defeat their proxy army in Yemen suffered recently. Though only a few actual Saudi soldiers were involved they still lost three brigades of proxies and mercenaries. Though their air force is generally more competent I don't think they could defend against missile and drone strikes. They already failed to prevent the latest attack and can't be guaranteed to do so in the future if there is any blowback from an attack. 

Which is why they need US support. We have deployed some small forces to Saudi Arabia but not enough to support a retaliatory strike against Iran. They need American ground and air support to protect their infrastructure and right now they don't have it. There is zero desire for war with Iran in the United States and President Trump knows that a war with Iran is one of the few ways he could lose in 2020. 

However, I'm much more worried about he Iranians doing something stupid than the Saudis. Their economy is in shambles and it's only the fact that they successfully crack down on any domestic opposition that they are in power in the first place. They have very little to lose by making things worse and could very well follow up their strike on oil facilities by doing so again. If that happens then a relation might have to happen, even if the Saudi's don't really want it.