JEDDAH/RIYADH/WASHINGTON, 27 September - Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said yesterday that Saudi Arabia's joining of the anti-terror coalition reflected its stand on the US-led campaign to fight terrorism. Speaking to reporters after meeting with an EU delegation, he said a Washington Post report that Riyadh had expressed reservations on the use of its air base for the campaign was not true.

Earlier, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, held talks with the EU ministerial delegation led by Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel. "The talks focused on global developments and the situation in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian issue," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Saud, who attended the talks, reiterated that Saudi Arabia will do its duty in fighting international terrorism. "We have reassured the delegation of our country's strong resolve in fighting terrorism," he added.

Prince Saud called for a multi-sided war to root out terrorism from the world. "The fight should be not just to track down the criminals of the Sept. 11 attacks, but to exterminate the infrastructure that helps the terrorists," he said.

Asked if Saudi support would include help for US military action against the Taleban, Prince Saud said that everyone who joins the coalition will do what they can in whatever capacity they choose. "Saudi Arabia will not avoid its duty," he stressed.

The attack on the US "goes beyond anything in the past and present and calls for new perceptions of cooperation," Prince Saud said. Islamic states and the West, and humanity at large, must participate in the fight against whoever did it, he insisted.

Michel said the delegation had fruitful talks with the crown prince and Prince Saud. "We have identical views on many points and we will continue to exchange views on a regular basis," he added.

Angry supporters of Afghanistan's ruling Taleban torched the long-abandoned US Embassy in Kabul yesterday as the United States said it was not interested in removing the Taleban from power.

Afghan government officials and students ripped off the huge metal US seal hanging at the entrance of the embassy and waved their arms in jubilation as protesters set fire to the building which the United States left in 1989 just before the Soviet Union abandoned its occupation of the Central Asian nation.

Aides to US President George Bush insisted the United States was not interested in reshaping other nations, even as US officials stepped up contacts with the Afghan forces opposing the Taleban, including the country's exiled former king. Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said any US military retaliation for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "is not designed to replace one regime with another." Fleischer, however, said Washington would welcome help from the rebel Northern Alliance, which controls enclaves in northern Afghanistan along borders with central Asian states where some US military forces have been deployed. The area is considered crucial to any strike on the impoverished nation.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there could be no quick fix. "It is by its very nature something that cannot be dealt with by some sort of massive attack or invasion," Rumsfeld said. The US comments prompted Taleban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar to issue an appeal for Afghans to return to their homes because the "possibility of a US attack has decreased." Many ordinary Afghans, however, appeared to be still convinced that a US attack was imminent.

In Jeddah, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told reporters that Arab countries had received assurances from Washington that none of them will be targeted by the proposed war on terror. "The present target is only the Taleban government and the Al-Qaeda organization," he said. Hariri denied that there was any Arab role in financing the campaign.

The US-led coalition suffered a serious setback when Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei lashed out at Washington and said it would not help in any attacks. "Iran will provide no help to America and its allies...in an attack on suffering, neighboring, Muslim Afghanistan," he told a group of war veterans.

"We do not believe America is sincere enough to lead an international move against terrorism. America has its hands deep in blood for all the crimes committed by the Zionist regime," he said, referring to Israel. The United Arab Emirates' defense minister urged the US to think very carefully before attacking Afghanistan, saying a strike could trigger a "human catastrophe" affecting millions. "I call on the United States to pause for reflection and give chance to diplomacy and all legal means before it resorts to military action, which could have grave repercussions on world peace and security," Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum said in a statement