<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/world/middleeast/02saudi.html> March 2, 2007 Iran and Saudis Plan Summit Talks on Crises By HASSAN M. FATTAH and NAZILA FATHI
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 1 — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran will visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a summit meeting with King Abdullah intended to tackle the Middle East's growing sectarian and political crises, Iranian officials said Thursday.
The visit, Mr. Ahmadinejad's first state visit to Saudi Arabia, was initiated by Iran, said a former Saudi official with knowledge of the discussions.
It marks the culmination of months of diplomatic efforts by the two regional powers, as well as other Arab countries, to settle the political standoff in Lebanon, cool sectarian violence in Iraq and possibly even avert a looming confrontation with the United States.
To some the trip is seen as a defensive move by an increasingly isolated Iran while to others it marks the start of another public relations offensive for the bellicose president.
"When the views of the two countries get closer, they can play an influential role in the chaotic situation of the Islamic world and the Middle East," Mohammad Hosseini, Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the official Iranian news agency, IRNA. "Unrest is increasing in the Middle East and if the situation continues, it will become a threat for all the countries in the region."
A Saudi official confirmed Mr. Ahmadinejad's visit, which will include a meeting with King Abdullah on Sunday, but the official Saudi news agency, SPA, made no mention of the trip, adding weight to the theory that the visit was an Iranian initiative.
Rumors of a likely meeting between the leaders had been circulating in Saudi Arabia for the past week, several analysts said, but the exact date appears to have been set within the last few days, just before the United Nations is expected to begin deliberating tougher sanctions on Iran for its continued uranium enrichment efforts in violation of United Nations resolutions.
The announcement also comes just two days after the United States agreed in principle to hold a high-level meeting with Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, to help stabilize Iraq, setting the stage for the highest-level contact between American and Iranian officials in more than two years.
The American decision to participate in that Iraqi regional meeting in Baghdad on March 10 was unconnected to the Saudi-Iranian summit talks, American officials said. They claimed to be untroubled by the summit plans despite their strong mistrust of Mr. Ahmadinejad.
King Abdullah and Mr. Ahmadinejad are expected to discuss ways of ending the political standoff in Lebanon between the American-backed government of Fouad Siniora and Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran. Both countries are also concerned that growing sectarian tensions in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region could fuel further instability.
"The last visit by an Iranian official to Riyadh was by national security chief Ali Larijani last month, but the Iranians were left feeling quite unsatisfied," said Adel al-Toraifi, a Riyadh-based Saudi analyst with close ties to the government.
Experts said talks had broken down when the Iranians balked at a deal that would increase Hezbollah's representation in the government, but would also start an international tribunal to try suspects connected to the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in 2005, a Saudi priority.
Hezbollah took to the streets of Beirut in December demanding a greater role in the government, and threatening to continue its protest until Mr. Siniora resigns or gives its allies more seats in the cabinet.
"The Iranians want to come to an understanding with the Saudis," said Khaled Dakhil, professor of political sociology at King Saud University in Riyadh. "The Iranians want the help of the Saudis on the nuclear front, and they do want to improve relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia."
Other likely agenda items are finding a peaceful conclusion to the standoff with the international community. Iran has sought to emphasize to its Persian Gulf neighbors that if the United States attacks it, they too will be affected, analysts say.
The six Persian Gulf states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council have insisted to Iran that they will not veer from United Nations Security Council resolutions, and that they are preparing to defend themselves.
"They want to deliver two messages — 'It is bad for the area; if we are attacked you will be affected,'" Abdelaziz Sager, chairman of the pro-Saudi Gulf Research Center in Dubai, said of the Iranians. "The other message is, 'If you have an easy way to solve the crises, tell us what it is.' They know that the best thing that can happen to Iran at this stage is for the Americans to attack them."
With Iran poised to gain from possibly two civil wars in the Middle East — one in Iraq and a potential one in Lebanon — Saudi Arabia in recent months has abandoned its behind-the-scenes checkbook diplomacy to take a central, more aggressive role in tempering the region's conflicts.
The kingdom has increased its public involvement in Iraq and its support of the Sunni-led government in Lebanon, and last month played host to Hamas and Fatah at a meeting in Mecca to settle the differences between the feuding Palestinian factions and form a national unity government.
The talks on Saturday may be a sign that Saudi Arabia's shuttle diplomacy has begun to have an effect.
"It is a matter of pure interests and the Iranians understand that very well and have their own interests to protect," said Osama Safa, head of the Lebanese Center for Policies, a research center. "The Saudis have several cards to play at this point, and they will be played when Ahmadinejad comes to Saudi Arabia."
In Tehran, many were skeptical about the political significance of Mr. Ahmadinejad's trip. Saudi officials had good relations with former Iranian presidents, like Mohammad Khatami and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, but Mr. Ahmadinejad became a political threat after his fiery rhetoric against Israel and in support of the Palestinians began resonating on Arab streets.
"Riyadh knows that if it wants to have serious discussions with Iran, it has to do it directly with Mr. Khamenei or through Mr. Larijani or Velayati," said Abbass Abdi, a political analyst in Tehran, speaking of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign minister and more moderate politician who is close to Mr. Khamenei. "This trip is more like a show for Mr. Ahmadinejad to say that Iran is not an isolated country."
Hassan M. Fattah reported from Dubai, and Nazila Fathi from Tehran. Nada Bakri contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon; Rasheed Abou-Alsamh from Jidda, Saudi Arabia; and Helene Cooper from Washington. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>