RIYADH, March 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday on an unannounced visit, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

It gave no immediate agenda for the visit but Iran’s official news agency Irna reported that Mr Mottaki is scheduled to meet Saudi King Abdullah.

The visit came less than a fortnight after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal called for a joint Arab strategy to deal with what he called the “Iranian challenge.”

“In order to cement Arab reconciliation we need a common vision for issues that concern Arab security and deal with the Iranian challenge,” Prince Saud told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on March 3. Prince Saud welcomed Mr Mottaki at the airport, SPA reported.

At the UN General Assembly last year, Prince Saud urged Iran to comply with its nuclear obligations to spare the Middle East from “devastating conflicts, futile arms races and serious environmental hazards.”

The West fears Iran is secretly trying to build an atomic bomb but Tehran sys its nuclear drive is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity for a growing population.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria held a mini-summit in Riyadh last week to patch up their differences which largely revolve around the role of Iran in the region.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit accused Iran last week of “manipulating” Arab states to increase its influence.

Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah and is often at odds with US-allied Arab regimes in the region.—Agencies
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