Tehran: The foreign ministers of the United States' key Gulf ally Saudi Arabia and longtime foe Iran expressed joint opposition on August 3 to any US military action against their common neighbour Iraq, even as Washington upped its rhetoric against Baghdad.

"We have always opposed any attack against an Arab or Muslim country and that also means Iraq," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told reporters, as he was welcomed at the airport by his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi at the start of a one-day visit.

"That is Iran's position too," Kharazi said. "We too have the same position. As we have said on various occasions, we are opposed to any attack launched against a Muslim country."

The Saudi foreign minister, who then went into a meeting with Kharazi, said he was bringing a message from Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, for the Iranian leadership as part of the "continuing political consultations" between the two regional powers.

"This message deals with the Middle East situation and, in general terms, with the whole region," said Prince Saud, who was due to hold afternoon talks with moderate President Mohammad Khatami.

"We have a lot of things to discuss and we must consult together on regional issues," the Saudi minister said.

"We want to continue our discussions with our Iranian brothers as usual."

After their meeting, state radio quoted a foreign ministry statement as quoting both ministers as underlining the need for a "solution to the Iraqi crisis through peaceful and political means".

They also took aim at Israel and the United States over the 22-month Middle East conflict and called for Islamic countries to support the Palestinians.

Kharazi denounced the "unilateral support" for Israel by the United States and said "the wrong policy of Washington has transformed the region to a scene of massacre of Palestinian people", cited by the official IRNA news agency.

"Islamic states must try to impose a military embargo on Israel," he said.

The consultations between the two Gulf powers, which were due to be followed on August 3 by a visit here by the top diplomat of another Gulf state, Oman, came as US officials warned Washington was determined to oust the Baghdad regime whatever it did. US Secretary of State Colin Powell on August 3 emphatically rejected an Iraqi offer to discuss a return of UN weapons inspectors who fled in December 1998 on the eve of the last massive US-British air strikes on Baghdad.