RIYADH, 26 December — Shoura Council Chairman Muhammad ibn Jubair has called on Muslims to concentrate their efforts to overcome the crisis they are facing since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and the subsequent war in Afghanistan.

Ibn Jubair was speaking after a meeting with visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karubi here on Monday.

Karubi, who also held talks with Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, is heading a delegation which included Commerce Minister Mohammad Chariatmadari and Industry Minister Eshagh Jahanghiri. Karubi is also scheduled to meet with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.

The talks were also attended by Shoura Council Vice President Bakri ibn Saleh Shatta, Secretary-General Dr. Hamoud Al-Badr and Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Khaji.

The Iranian leader, who arrived here earlier on Monday, said he agreed that "Muslims were undergoing a very difficult and sensitive period since there is a plot against Islam and Muslim peoples."

"Innocent people are being killed in Palestine and other innocent people were killed during the anti-terrorism campaign launched after the attacks in New York and Washington," he said.

Karubi has also voiced Tehran’s opposition to expanding the US-led war on terror to include Iraq. "We are against any (eventual) American campaign against the Iraqi people. Muslim countries must use all their capabilities to prevent such a campaign from targeting Iraq," Karubi said after the meeting.

"The duty of all Muslim countries is to stand against excuses by the US administration" to justify expanding the anti-terror campaign, he said.

Karubi slammed the US decision to consider the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, terrorist organizations.

"It is natural that America should classify these as terrorist groups, because it receives criminal (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon, and supports brutal Israeli attacks on Palestinian children, women and elderly men," Karubi said.

Tehran is looking to see a stable Afghanistan and a "government that represents all Afghan factions and parties," he said.

Both Ibn Jubair and Karubi expressed grave concern over the killings of innocent civilians by Israelis troops. They strongly condemned the state terrorism sponsored by the Zionist state and expressed shock and dismay over the silence of the international community toward Israeli atrocities.

During their meeting, Ibn Jubair and Karubi discussed cooperation between the two countries and regional and Islamic issues.

On Saudi-Iranian relations, Karubi said that the recent contacts between the two countries have resolved all outstanding problems and there is currently no hurdle before the two sides in expanding their ties. He said increased cooperation between the two Islamic nations has been deemed a necessity for ensuring regional stability and peace.

Relations between the two Gulf powers have improved in recent years with Riyadh and Tehran inking in April a security pact to fight drug trafficking and terrorism.

The deal between the number one and number two oil producers in the OPEC also touches on money laundering, border surveillance and Gulf territorial waters.

Saudi Arabia ratified in September the agreement which was signed in Tehran by Interior Minister Prince Naif and his Iranian counterpart Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari, following a landmark visit by the prince.

On the commercial front, he said Riyadh and Tehran have forged closer relations and have launched several joint projects and programs to boost cooperation in trade and commerce.

The current visit, he said, has given another opportunity to the commerce ministers of the two counties to review bilateral economic relations. Trade between the Kingdom and Iran stood at SR498 million last year.

Commerce Minister Osama Faqeeh held a separate meeting with his Iranian counterpart Chariatmadari and discussed ways to boost commercial links. The two ministers also finalized the agenda of the Saudi-Iranian Joint Commission for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation, which will be holding its fourth meeting in Tehran early next year.

Riyadh and Tehran have also planned to set up some joint-ventures and have already identified petrochemical, automobile and heavy industries as potential areas of cooperation.

At present, there are 13 Saudi-Iranian joint ventures with a total capital of SR1.1 billion.