Gulf leaders meet amid Iran Geneva talks

Saudi King Abdullah met the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait for a mini-summit Saturday, state television reported, as Iran and the West held a third day of talks on Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The king, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar and Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah discussed "issues of interest to the three nations", Al-Ikhbariya said. The news channel said the three members of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council also discussed increased regional cooperation. No further information about the gathering was given by the broadcaster. But the talks between three of the Gulf's Sunni-ruled richest nations came at a crucial stage in Geneva talks between Western powers and Shiite Iran on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. Western powers accuse major oil producer Iran of using its nuclear programme to develop atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Saudi Arabia has been locked in a decades-long rivalry with Iran.