Iran, Saudi Heads Vow to Work for Unity ~

Following their first official talks in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian and Saudi leaders on Saturday pledged to fight the spread of sectarian strife in the Middle East, which they said was the biggest danger facing the region.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and King Abdullah also stressed the importance of maintaining Palestinian unity and bringing security to Iraq, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The agency quoted Ahamdinejad as saying he supported Saudi efforts to calm the situation in Lebanon and end its political crisis. Iran supports Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group, which is trying to topple the U.S.- and Saudi-backed government.

The talks between the two leaders have been touted as a possible means to defuse sectarian tensions in Iraq and Lebanon, and prevent Iran from sliding further into isolation.

"The two leaders asserted that the greatest danger threatening the Muslim nation at the present time is the attempt to spread strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and that efforts should be exerted to stop such attempts and close ranks," the Saudi Press Agency said.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had chilly relations since the 2005 election of Ahmadinejad, whose refusal to suspend uranium enrichment has led to U.N. Security Council sanctions and made Iran's Arab neighbors increasingly wary of the country's nuclear program.

But Abdullah personally met Ahmadinejad at the airport before the two headed into a meeting. The king later threw a banquet in his guest's honor, the Saudi Press Agency said. The Iranian leader left Riyadh late Saturday after the talks.

Saudi and Iranian analysts said cooperation will benefit both countries, as well as the whole region. Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia are on different sides of the two conflicts that are threatening to ignite the Middle East - Iraq and Lebanon - and the Saudis have expressed concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi analyst, said the kingdom would not have agreed to receive Ahmadinejad "if it didn't know that the visit would add to its political achievements."

Top diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany were negotiating Saturday on possible new sanctions against Iran. None of the governments commented immediately after the conference call.

A breakthrough on the Muslim sectarian divide could also pave way for the success of the March 10 conference in Baghdad of Iraq's neighbors - Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia - as well as the United States and other Western powers, and the annual Arab summit, which will be held at the end of the month in Riyadh.

"Iran has proved its capability of destabilization," wrote Ghassan Sharbil, the Lebanese editor of the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat daily. "Now, it's time to prove its ability to participate in creating stability."

"Ahmadinejad can invest in this summit to calm down the Arab world, the Islamic world and the whole globe in order to protect Iran against isolation, the dangers of an American strike and a new resolution by the Security Council," he added.

Riyadh broke off ties with Iran in 1988, accusing it of supporting terrorism and subversion. They were restored shortly after the 1991 Gulf War, but relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia plummeted again following Ahmadinejad's election in 2005.

Since then, Arab Gulf countries have offered quiet support for moves against Iran's nuclear program that the United States and its allies fear is aimed at creating weapons. Iran says its program is solely for peaceful purposes.

The chill in relations is partly due to Ahmadinejad's tough anti-Western talk, which has raised suspicions among Sunnis that Tehran is trying to expand its influence in the region.

"Since Ahmadinejad's harsh rhetoric is partly responsible for the cooling in relations, he is (now) taking this step to redress (the situation)," said independent Iranian writer Saeed Leylaz.

Associated Press writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, and Maggie Michael in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report.

Reuters report:

Ahmadinejad, Saudi king reject sectarian strife

*****************EXCERPT************************

By Souhail Karam

RIYADH (Reuters) - Sunni and Shi'ite heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed on Saturday to fight the spread of sectarian strife that threatens to spill over from their neighbor Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister said.

Saudi King Abdullah held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was on his first official trip to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi official said earlier the kingdom would seek Iran's help to ease sectarian tensions in Iraq erupting into full-blown civil war.

Killings by Sunni and Shi'ite death squads in Iraq and the political crisis in Lebanon dividing Sunni and Shi'ite parties have led to fears of sectarian conflict in the Middle East. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran are among the most influential nations of their respective branches of Islam.

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"The two parties have agreed to stop any attempt aimed at spreading sectarian strife in the region," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters.

"The two leaders stressed that the greatest threat against the Muslim nation are attempts to spread strife between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims," the official Saudi agency SPA said.

Ahmadinejad and King Abdullah also voiced support for Iraq's government, its national unity and the "equality of its citizens".

Ahmadinejad voiced support for Saudi efforts to ease tensions in Lebanon, and the two leaders called on all parts to cooperate with these efforts, the agency said.

The agency made no reference to Iran's nuclear program, which Iranian state media had said was expected to be discussed. SPA said Ahmadinejad left Riyadh after the talks.

Saudi Arabia has led a diplomatic drive in recent months to counterbalance what is regarded as Iran's growing influence in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

While Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, Iran is a fierce opponent of Western influence in the region.

The United States is pushing for the United Nations to impose tougher sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which can make fuel for either atomic bombs or nuclear power plants.

BATTLE FOR INFLUENCE

The West suspects Iran's nuclear energy program aims to develop weapons, an accusation Tehran denies.

U.S.-allied Arab governments also fear Iran is gaining influence in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Iraq, where Saudi Arabia blames Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias for sectarian killings.

Riyadh wanted to press Iran to exert pressure on Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran and Syria, to put an end to a political standoff in Lebanon, the Saudi official said.

Diplomats said Iran wanted to address these concerns before an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia later this month.

"Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have taken up the role of an alliance speaking in the name of the Arab world ... So Iran is making sure its views and positions on Arab issues are heard at summits," a Saudi-based Western diplomat said.

Saudi and Iranian officials have met several times in recent weeks to mediate between Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's U.S. and Saudi-backed government.

But their talks, as well as Saudi contacts with Washington and Paris and Iranian talks with its closest regional ally, Syria, appear to have made little headway.

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Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria have accepted Iraq's invitation to a regional conference in March on easing tensions in Iraq.

(Additional reporting by Tehran and Beirut bureau)

BBC report:

Mid-East vow to curb sectarianism

Sunday, 4 March 2007, 01:59 GMT

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Mid-East vow to curb sectarianism

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh

The pair are leading representatives of Islam's Shia and Sunni branches

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah have agreed to work together to fight sectarian strife in the Middle East.

The announcement followed a visit by Mr Ahmadinejad to Riyadh for rare talks.

Speaking on his return to Tehran, he said the two countries would stand together against "enemy plots" seeking to divide the Muslim world.

The summit comes at a time of sectarian division and tension between Saudis and Iran over events in Iraq and Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia, a major Sunni power in the region, and Iran, an important Shia power, have found themselves aligned with groups on opposing political sides.

Correspondents say Saudi Arabia has led a diplomatic drive in recent months to counterbalance what it sees as Iran's growing influence in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Closing ranks

An account of the talks was issued by the official Saudi Press Agency early on Sunday, shortly after Mr Ahmadinejad left Riyadh to return home to Tehran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia oppose the dominance of enemies over the region and their conspiracies. During this trip, we tried to devise some measures to prevent the enemies from harming the Muslim world and to foil their plots

President Ahmadinejad

"The two leaders asserted that the greatest danger threatening the Muslim nation at the present time is the attempt to spread strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims and that efforts should be exerted to stop such attempts and close ranks," it said.

The agency quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as saying he supported Saudi attempts to calm the situation in Lebanon and resolve the political crisis there.

There has been a recent flurry of contacts between Saudi Arabia, which is influential with Lebanon's Sunnis, and Iran, which backs Hezbollah and is also allied to Syria.

The two leaders also reportedly stressed the importance of Palestinian unity and the need to safeguard Iraq's independence and integrity.

'Common views'

Speaking in Tehran after the talks, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "We discussed the Palestinian and Iraq issues comprehensively. We have common views in this regard."

He also said that "plots carried out by the enemies in order to divide the world of Islam were discussed" and that the Saudis had joined Iran in condemning them, the AFP news agency reports.

Lebanese soldiers by a roadblock in a Beirut street

Mr Ahmadinejad said he supported Saudi efforts to calm Lebanon

"Iran and Saudi Arabia oppose the dominance of enemies over the region and their conspiracies. During this trip, we tried to devise some measures to prevent the enemies from harming the Muslim world and to foil their plots," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

Mr Ahmadinejad's trip to Riyadh came as Iran is under growing pressure from the West over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment programme.

The US has also claimed that the "highest levels" of Iran's government are supplying arms used by Shia militants in Iraq.

Watching anxiously

Iran is a rising power bolstered by the removal by the US of its two great enemies - the Taleban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq - the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

Iran's Shia allies are now the dominant force in Iraq, while Tehran's influence is spreading more widely into Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Sunni-ruled states like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are watching Iran's rise with a degree of anxiety, our correspondent adds.

It makes sense for the Saudis and the Iranians to talk as neither country has an interest in a Sunni-Shia rivalry in the region getting out of control, our correspondent says.

Indeed, the fact that this bilateral meeting has come ahead of a wider multilateral gathering on Iraq suggests that some sort of new understanding just might be in the works, he says.

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