Iran, Saudi discuss potential US strike on Iraq

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami conferred in Jeddah today on the confrontation…

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami conferred in Jeddah today on the confrontation between the United States and Iraq.

The two reviewed "the situation in the Gulf, in particular in Iraq, in light of the possible war" between Washington and Baghdad over whether the Iraqi regime possesses weapons of mass destruction, a Khatami aide said.

The two leaders also reviewed bilateral relations.

It was Khatami's second visit to Saudi Arabia, where he arrived Wednesday night, immediately embarking on a private pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites.

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Saudi-Iranian relations have been on the mend since a landmark 1999 visit by Khatami, only the second here by an Iranian head of state since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Both countries are opposed to a US strike on Iraq, a position they made clear during a visit to Tehran by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in early August.

Saudi Arabia has pressed ahead with closer relations with Iran despite misgivings in the United States, which has said it regards the Islamic regime as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea.

The longtime rivals inked a security pact in April last year during a visit to Tehran by Prince Nayef, the first Saudi interior minister to travel there since the revolution.