RIYADH, Feb 18: Buoyed by worldwide anti-war sentiment, Saudi Arabia hardened opposition to a unilateral attack on Iraq on Tuesday, warning that no foreign troops would wage war on Baghdad from its soil.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal took the Saudi anti-war stance a step forward by declaring that an attack by the United States on Iraq would be seen by many as an act of aggression.

If the United States went in alone, it “would appear as aggression”, the foreign minister said in an interview with BBC television.

“If an attack comes through the UN Security Council, obviously it is not aggression,” he said.

Riyadh has maintained that if the Security Council approves war on Baghdad, its decision to join in will be based on the “material breach” by Iraq of the council’s resolution 1441 and Saudi national interest.

Prince Saud said that “independent action” was not “good for the US. It would encourage people to think that what they are doing is a war of aggression rather than a war for the implementation of the United Nations resolution.”

He added: “If change of regime comes with the destruction of Iraq then you are solving one problem and creating far more problems.

“We live in the region. We will suffer the consequences of any military action.”

Saudi political analyst Dawood al-Shurayan commented: “This is a continuation of the Saudi pressure to convince US decision-makers not to wage war against Iraq. Saudi Arabia does not want war because it is aware of its serious consequences.

“But the Saudis do not want to collide head-on with the Americans. They want to caution them from the dangers of war,” Shurayan said.

Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of defence, Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdul Aziz, also asserted that no foreign troops would be allowed to attack any Arab country from Saudi territory.

“Be assured that no one will be allowed to step into Saudi Arabia to fight any Arab country,” the prince told Saudi troops and members of the Peninsula Shield forces in the north of the country.

“This is the position of every Saudi official,” he said.

The assurance followed a telephone conversation between Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and US President George Bush.

King Fahd and Prince Abdullah said last week they were trying to spare Iraq and the region a US strike.

“We are sparing no effort to shield Iraq, its brotherly people and the region ... from war,” they said in a joint speech marking the Eid-ul-Azha.

“We hope efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully will succeed and wisdom prevail,” they said in the speech delivered at Mina.

Saudi newspapers on Tuesday pursued an anti-war campaign and urged Arabs not to provide any facilities that may endanger the safety of Iraq, in line with a non-binding call by Arab foreign ministers, who met in Cairo at the weekend.

“Arabs ... are required in these difficult times faced by Iraq to refrain from providing any assistance or facilities that may help to threaten the security, safety and stability of Iraq,” Al Youm newspaper said.

“We must make it very clear ... that any unilateral military action by the United States is a grave mistake.”

Another newspaper, Al Jazirah, urged Arab leaders to coordinate with the rest of the world, particularly Europe, in order to prevent war.—AFP