Kharazi in Saudi Arabia to discuss Iraqi, Afghan crises

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi arrives today in Jeddah from which he will head to al-Madina al-Munawara and then to Mecca to perform al-Omra.

On Saturday, Kharazi will head for Riyadh where he will meet with King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. He will also hold talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Well-informed sources told the London-based al-Hayat daily that the Saudi-Iranian talks will center on the Iraqi crisis in the light of the tour of US Secretary of Defense William Cohen in the region and the possible reactions to the decision adopted by Iraq to suspend cooperation with UNSCOM.

A high-ranking Saudi diplomatic source told al-Hayat that Riyadh and Tehran strongly oppose the decision taken by Baghdad, but at the same time the two countries stressed the need to give priority to reaching a peaceful solution in dealing with the crisis, adding that they are not enthusiastic over the use of force against Iraq, rather "they refuse striking Iraq."

The source added: "Each of Iran and Saudi Arabia, separately, suffer from the misbehavior of Saddam Hussein and his aides. They do not oppose the use of force because they care for him, rather to maintain the interest of the Iraqi people who always pay the price. The use of force in addition, would leave negative impact on the region, economically, especially as the Gulf countries suffer as a result of deterioration in oil prices."

Iranian diplomatic sources said that Kharazi will also discuss with the Saudi officials means of strengthening bilateral relations, especially on the economic level. The Iranian sources noted a similarity between the two countries' stances toward the Afghan crisis, especially after Saudi Arabia froze relations with the Taleban movement.