January 18, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 27, 1427

RIYADH, Jan 17: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates touched down in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday angling for support from the kingdom in confronting Iran's suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Mr Gates, who flew into Riyadh from Kabul, was also expected to discuss Washington's new strategy for taming sectarian bloodshed and chaos in Iraq when he sees King Abdullah for face-to-face talks.

He is the first Pentagon chief to visit Saudi Arabia -- a key US ally in the Gulf region and wider Middle East -- since his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld came in April 2003, soon after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Speaking to reporters travelling with him, Mr Gates indicated that Washington was counting on Riyadh's support in addressing hot-button issues in the region, starting with Iran's nuclear programme.

“I think we can always use Saudi cooperation on these issues in the Gulf region,” said Mr Gates when asked if Washington was seeking Riyadh's support to check Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only, has defied UN Security Council demands to halt its uranium enrichment work -- prompting the world body to impose limited sanctions.

“I think above all, I will be interested in hearing the king's views in these issues, and how the king sees the situation in the region,” said Mr Gates, who replaced Mr Rumsfeld as defence secretary a month ago.

“His perspective on these things is specially what I'm interested in.” Mr Gates, former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has moved to raise the US military's profile in the Gulf since his appointment by US President George W. Bush.

A second US aircraft carrier battlegroup has been ordered to the Gulf region -- the first time the United States has had so much seagoing muscle in the vicinity since the Iraq invasion.—AFP