KUALA LUMPUR -- Iran-Saudi Arabia relations are growing on a stable and friendly path despite Washington's efforts to isolate Iran and to prevent its influence in many regions, particularly in the strategically important oil-rich Persian Gulf, where Iran and Saudi Arabia act as regional powers, the Bangkok-based Asian Times newspaper reported.

It said relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have gone through several phases over the past two decades.

The newspaper, in its editorial, explained that Saudi-Iranian ties began to improve only after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Iran's taking sides with the Kuwaitis and the anti-Iraqi coalition of the Arab Persian Gulf states helped put Iran's ties with its southern Arab neighbors on a friendly path.

In particular, the Asian Times said, the fact that Saudi-Iranian relations, especially their diplomatic ones, are improving is reflected by the exchanges of high-ranking delegations between the two countries since the 1990s, even though various remaining grievances on both sides have prevented their rapid expansion.

"The 1997 election of Mohammad Khatami as Iranian president acted as a catalyst in Iranian-Saudi relations.

"His pursuit of a foreign policy aimed at tension reduction and improving ties with foreign countries paved the way for a rapid expansion of ties between Iran and its southern Arab neighbors," it explained.

The daily said Iranian-Saudi bilateral relations encompassing various fields such as political, economic, educational and security have since grown on a steady basis, IRNA reported. It said: "Their well-coordinated policies within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over issues such as oil pricing and production quotas for the member states have clearly reflected the depth of their closeness."

"As the largest and the richest Persian Gulf countries with certain influence, Iran and Saudi Arabia have the capabilities to affect the pace of events in their region," the newspaper added.

Thus, it continued, their cooperation is a necessity for ensuring security in the region, which contains over 60 percent of the world's proven oil reserves in addition to a phenomenal amount of gas (Iran and Qatar have the world's second and third largest gas deposits, respectively).

Iran and Saudi Arabia have signed a few security agreements since 1997, including one in April 2002 during the official visit to Iran of Saudi Minister of the Interior Amir Nayef bin Abdulaziz.

The newspaper said that in the absence of any official statements by the two signatories on the specifics of such agreements, there is little doubt, if there is any, that they should include their cooperation towards the elimination of extremist and terrorist organizations endangering their stability, among other objectives.

"Against this background, the release of information by Saudi Foreign Minister Amir Saud al-Faisal on Iran's handing over of suspected Al-Qaeda members to the Saudi authorities should not surprise anyone," it said.

The paper further said that Saudi-Iranian cooperation is not a new development and, thus, its continuation is perfectly understandable within the context of relations between the two largest nations on the northern and southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

However, it pointed out that the expansion of such relations at a time when the American government is seeking Iran's isolation indicates the determination of the largest regional ally of the United states, Saudi Arabia, to pursue its own regional interests.

"And apparently, these interests do not necessarily wholly coincide with those of the United States," the daily stated.

Asia Times, founded in 1995, is served by more than 30 correspondents and contributors in 13 Asian countries, the US and Europe.

Its main aim is to look at issues from the Asian perspective and this distinguishes the newspaper from the mainstream English-language media, whose reporting on Asia matters in generally by westerners and for Westerners.