Saudi television showed a smiling Ahmadinejad, whose country could face tougher U.N. sanctions over its refusal to suspend its nuclear programme, being greeted by King Abdullah and Saudi officials at a red-carpet airport ceremony.

A Saudi official said the kingdom will seek Iran's help in easing sectarian tensions in Iraq to prevent a civil war. Riyadh will also try to convince Tehran to comply with U.N. resolutions seeking suspension of its uranium enrichment.

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The United States and its regional allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, suspect Iran's nuclear energy programme aims to develop weapons, an accusation Tehran denies.

U.S.-allied Arab governments also fear Iran is gaining influence in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Iraq, where Sunni Muslim bastion Saudi Arabia blames Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias for sectarian killings.

Riyadh will also press Iran to exert pressure on Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran and Syria, to put an end to a political standoff in Lebanon, the Saudi official said.

Ahmadinejad was earlier quoted by Iran's IRNA news agency as saying: "In the meeting with King Abdullah, we will discuss those issues that should be carried out jointly in the Islamic world and also the region."

Iranian state radio said talks would also cover "Iran's nuclear case", adding Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and other senior officials were accompanying the president.

Diplomats and analysts say Iran wants to address these concerns ahead of an Arab League summit in Saudi in late March.

"Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have taken up the role of an alliance speaking in the name of the Arab world ... So Iran is making sure its views and positions on Arab issues are heard at summits," a Saudi-based Western diplomat said.

MEDIATION

Saudi and Iranian officials have met several times in recent weeks to mediate between Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's U.S. and Saudi-backed government.

But their talks, as well as Saudi contacts with Washington and Paris and Iranian talks with its closest regional ally, Syria, appear to have made little headway.

A Lebanese political source says Iran wants to break the ice between Saudis and Syrians, central to easing Lebanon's crisis, before the Arab League summit.

Hezbollah demands veto power in Lebanon's government and early elections, but Siniora has refused. The standoff has paralysed parts of Beirut and occasionally led to violence.

The crisis in Lebanon and Sunni-Shi'ite fighting in Iraq has led to fears of growing sectarian divisions across the region.

Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria have accepted Iraq's invitation to a regional conference in March on easing tensions in Iraq. Riyadh has led a drive in recent months to try to counterbalance Iran's sway in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

(Additional reporting by Tehran and Beirut bureaux)

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