Actually, the Saudis can detect incoming drones or cruise missiles, assuming they had an AWACS airborne at the time. I’m quite sure that we did and know exactly what was used, by whom and from whence the attack was launched.
As to why the Saudis haven’t/won’t(?) respond, a significant number of officers in the Saudi military are “members of the royal family,” none of whom are in a hurry to die. I trained quite a few of their army officers and a couple of air force officers and I got the impression that they considered their military equipment their playthings and service in the military was an obligation of sorts, not something to be taken seriously (kind of like much of British royalty). Attacking essentially undefended targets in Yemen is one thing; flying into Iranian (Russian) air defense systems is quite another.
Why would Iran do this? Iran’s economy is collapsing. Whether it will result in the dissolution of the theocracy, we’ll see, but I doubt it. Like dictators everywhere, the mullahs know that the Iranian people - and not the mullahs - will be the ones to suffer.
Iran would conduct such an attack for a few reasons, all of which they’ve done before. Iran seized foreign vessels (not US) to demonstrate that they could and to remind people of the vulnerability and strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, knowing full well that there would be no military response - despite the fact that they committed an act of war. By so doing, they could increase international pressure on the US to lift sanctions. They conducted this attack for the very same reasons.
“They conducted this attack for the very same reasons”.
Looks like a pretty sophisticated attack which strangely had no reported casualties.
Could be we pulled a Reichstag fire setting up Iran to take out their nuke program and perhaps get rid of the Mullahs at the same time.
Its a win win especially if the Saudis do it with our backing.