RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - On his first official visit to Saudi Arabia, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held crucial talks yesterday with King Abdullah that are being touted as a possible means to defuse sectarian tensions in Iraq and Lebanon, and prevent Iran from sliding further into isolation.

Expectations have been high that the meeting would go beyond discussions and produce tangible results, because it follows weeks of brisk diplomacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia by top envoys from both countries.

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Abdullah personally met Ahmadinejad at the airport before the two headed into a meeting. The king later threw a banquet in his guests' honor.

Saudi and Iranian analysts said cooperation between the two giants will benefit both countries, as well as the whole region. Shi'ite-majority Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia are on different sides of the conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon that are threatening to ignite the Middle East. Riyadh has also expressed worry over Iran's nuclear program.

As a close U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia can open up doors for Iran with the international community to help ease the mounting pressure on Tehran resulting from its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran, meanwhile, is a close ally of Syria and a strong backer of Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah, which is striving to bring down the U.S. - and the Saudi-backed Lebanese government. It also has close ties to the Shi'ite-led government in Iraq.

A breakthrough on these issues could also pave way for the success of the March 10 conference in Baghdad of Iraq's neighbors, which Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia will attend as well as the United States and other Western powers, and the annual Arab summit, which will be held at the end of the month in Riyadh.