Citing diplomatic sources, it said the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service had assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Saudi Arabia has tacitly agreed to the use of its airspace.

Netanyahu's office denied the report, however, calling it "fundamentally wrong and baseless".

The Sunday Times said Mossad director Meir Dagan had held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility.

"The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia," it quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

Israel and Saudi Arabia have no formal diplomatic relations but Mossad has "working relations" with the Saudis, the newspaper added, citing an Israeli defence source.

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