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TEHRAN, Sunday (Reuters)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal arrived in Iran on a one-day visit as the two former foes said they opposed any possible U.S. military attack on their common neighbour Iraq.

Prince Saud told reporters at Tehran's airport that he would deliver a written message from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to President Mohammad Khatami at a meeting later on Saturday.

"We have a common position with Iran," Iran's state television quoted Prince Saud as saying. "We oppose any military attack against Islamic and regional countries and we are both opposed to any American military attack against Iraq."

The United States is debating an attack on Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein, seen as a threat due to his alleged efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Prince Saud also welcomed Iraq's offer on Thursday for the chief U.N. weapons inspector, barred since 1998, to return to Baghdad for technical talks.

"The return of U.N. weapons inspectors is the most appropriate way to ensure the safety of Iraq and its people," the state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.

Iran, which fought a 1980-88 war with Iraq, has repeatedly urged Baghdad to meet U.N. demands and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction.

Unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, but the conservative kingdom fears an attack on Iraq would bring instability to the volatile oil-rich region.

Iran fears an attack to oust Saddam would set a precedent for the U.S. superpower to use force to remove any government it dislikes.

Meanwhile U.S. President George W. Bush said "nothing's changed" regarding the U.S. determination to topple Saddam Hussein following Baghdad's offer to hold talks with U.N. weapons inspectors.

"Nothing's changed," Bush told reporters in response to a question about Iraq policy, hours after Baghdad said its invitation for talks with U.N. inspectors was genuine and accused Bush of fomenting an "evil plot" to overthrow Saddam.

"I'm a patient man. I'll use all of the tools at our disposal" to deal with the threat, Bush said, referring to U.S. charges that Saddam is developing weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking moments earlier at a political fund-raiser in Prouts Neck, Maine, Bush said: "We owe it to the future of civilization not to allow the world's worst leaders to develop and deploy and therefore blackmail the freedom-loving nations with the world's worst weapons ...

"I can assure you I understand history has called us into action and this country will defend freedom no matter what the cost."

Earlier on Saturday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington's often-stated goal of ousting Saddam had not changed.

"He (Bush) has made no decision with respect to military action," McCormack said during a visit by Bush to his family's compound in Kennebunkport.

"He has a number of options at his disposal, including political, diplomatic and military means. He is patient and he will make a decision on a course of action in due time,"

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton told the British Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday that Washington favored the reintroduction of arms inspectors to Iraq, but had not altered its ultimate goal of removing Saddam from power.

"That policy will not be altered whether the inspectors go in or not," Bolton said.

"Inspections are not the issue, disarmament is the issue and making certain that they have no weapons of mass destruction and they did what they were supposed to do but know we know they haven't," Powell told reporters.

Meanwhilea top Russian diplomat, in an interview called Iraq's proposal to resume talks on U.N. arms inspections as a step forward and urged the world community to "take full advantage of it".

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, who last month visited Iraq and neighbouring countries, told RIA news agency that Baghdad's proposal contained no conditions liable to prevent progress towards a settlement.

"According to our information, the Iraqi proposals are linked to no conditions, or at least conditions which could be unacceptable in terms of a long-term settlement," he told RIA.

"Our position is that given that there has been a specific move forward, we should take full advantage of it."

Meanwhile German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer cautioned against a possible U.S. attack on Iraq stressing the need to solve the broader Middle East conflict first.

"I can only warn against talking about or considering a war against Iraq without thinking of the consequences and without a political concept for the whole Middle East," Schroeder told a rally of his Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Hanover.

Fischer expressed a similar position in a television interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

"To talk now of having to push through a change in government in Baghdad with a military intervention, that's a false assessment of priorities," he said.

Schroeder reiterated his view that Germany stood beside the United States after the September 11 attacks, but was not prepared to engage in "adventures".

"Germany is no longer a country where chequebook diplomacy replaces politics," he said on Saturday.

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