Saudi Arabian officials told European lawmakers during private talks that they may be willing to cooperate with Israel on the Iranian nuclear issue, and could even allow the Israeli Air Force to use its air space for a possible air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Israel's Channel 2 reported Tuesday.
"The Saudi authorities are completely coordinated with Israel on all matters related to Iran," Channel 2 reported the unnamed European official as saying on Tuesday, reported The Jerusalem Post.
"The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi airspace en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary," the report said.
Saudi Arabia's eastern Persian Gulf border is only about 100 miles from Iran's Bushehr nuclear site.
The agreement does come with strings attached, though. Before Saudi Arabia will allow Israel to use its airspace, officials said that Israel needs to demonstrate "some sign of progress" in the ongoing peace talks on the issue of Palestinian statehood, reported the Jerusalem Post.
Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have expressed concern that a nuclear arms race could break out in the region if Iran were to successfully develop an atomic weapon.
The United States, along with Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, are currently in the final stages of nuclear negotiations with Iran in hopes that a diplomatic deal can be reached to prevent Tehran from pursuing nuclear weapons.
Negotiators have set a March 31 deadline to agree to a basic framework. U.S. lawmakers have indicated that they may move forward with a bill that would impose additional sanctions on Iran if a comprehensive deal is not reached by the end of June.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on March 3, where he is expected to warn lawmakers of the dangers a nuclear Iran could pose.
