Iranian and Saudi leaders holds talks

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

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran 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 Ahmadinejad as saying he supported Saudi efforts to calm the situation in Lebanon and end its political crisis. Iran supports Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah group, which is trying to topple the American- 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 Shi'ite 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 UN 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 yesterday after the talks.

Saudi and Iranian analysts said cooperation will benefit both countries, as well as the region. Shi'ite-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 yesterday on possible new sanctions against Iran. None of the governments commented immediately after the conference call.