RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- U.S. ally Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it was working with Iran, America's top rival in the Mideast, to find ways to ease the crises in Lebanon and Iraq — a departure from Washington's confrontational stance toward Tehran.

The mediation is an unusual step by two rivals that have been competing for influence in the region.

The kingdom's willingness to cooperate with Iran in mediating the conflicts likely points to the alarm that that the bloodshed in Iraq and the possibility of civil war in Lebanon has raised among the Saudi leadership.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Tuesday that Iran had approached his country to "cooperate in averting strife between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon."

"Saudi Arabia wants only peace in the region," al-Faisal said. "Contacts are ongoing between Riyadh and Tehran."

A Saudi envoy is in Iran studying all the efforts being exerted to calm the situation in Iraq and Lebanon and "exploring what Iran can contribute," he said.

Last week, protests erupted into clashes between supporters of the two sides that raised fears in Lebanon and across the Middle East that the country could explode into a sectarian civil war between its Shias and Sunnis.

The contacts come as Saudi Arabia has given tepid support to a new U.S. strategy in Iraq but has expressed skepticism over whether it will succeed. Besides sending 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, the new strategy takes a tougher stance on Iran.