Saudis fear Iran is after their oil, not Israel

Saudi Arabia has been making reassuring statements in public. But privately, Saudi leaders are skirting the edge of panic as they watch Iran's nuclear weapons program unfold.

Western intelligence sources said the kingdom fears it will be the first target of any Teheran retaliation against a U.S. strike on its nuclear facilities. The sources said the Saudi leaders believe Iran has placed Saudi Arabia at the top of the list of targets in an effort to deter any U.S. strike.

"The Saudis provide the difference between a stable and unstable energy market," one Western intelligence source said. "One Iranian missile toward a major Saudi oil facility and the market collapses."

The Saudis have not been assuaged by Iran's threats against Israel.

Indeed, Saudi leaders believe that Iran and Israel have been cooperating as part of an effort to establish Shi'ite dominance over Sunnis in the Middle East.

Here is the Saudi scenario: Iran takes over southern Iraq through its Shi'ite quislings and becomes owner of the huge oil reserves in the area. That would place Iran along the borders of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

At that point, Iran would send thousands of Arabic-speaking agents into Saudi Arabia's eastern province, where the kingdom's considerable Shi'ite minority live. These agents would be in striking distance of Saudi oil wells and refinery.

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