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LONDON, Tuesday (AFP) A unilateral attack by the United States on Iraq would be seen by many as an act of aggression, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told the BBC.

If the US went in alone it "would appear as aggression", the foreign minister said in an interview with BBC television news. He also signalled that any war could destabilise the Middle East.

"If an attack comes through the UN Security Council, obviously it is not aggression," he said.

He added that "independent action" was not "good for the US. It would encourage people to think that what they are doing is a war of aggression rather than a war for the implementation of the United Nations resolution.

"So we are ardently hoping, we are urging the United States to continue to work with the UN."

Faisal added: "If change of regime comes with the destruction of Iraq then you are saving one problem and creating far more problems.

"We live in the region. We will suffer the consequences of any military action."

Saudi Arabia, the United States' chief ally in the Gulf, has so far opposed any US-led war against neighbouring Iraq, and called for disarming Baghdad -- accused of refusing to give up weapons of mass destruction -- through peaceful means.

Earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and George W. Bush examined regional developments in a telephone conversation initiated by the US president, the SPA news agency reported.

Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto ruler, and Bush "reviewed the latest developments in the region and the world over, in addition to bilateral relations," the Saudi agency said, without specifically mentioning Iraq. 

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