Imran Khan lays pitch for peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, received on Tuesday the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

Khan, on US President Donald Trump's request, has donned the role of a peace envoy, making all-out moves to end the strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

During the audience, they discussed close ties between the two fraternal countries, aspects of bilateral co-operation, and the latest developments at the regional and international arenas and the efforts exerted towards them, according to the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.

Mohammed Bin Salman meets Imran Khan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

Tensions have soared in the Gulf in recent months with a series of attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers which have raised fears of a war between the arch-rivals.

Khan on Sunday held talks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, where he emphasised the importance of avoiding such a conflict.

Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday that Khan and King Salman had discussed "latest developments at the regional and international arenas and efforts exerted towards them".

Tensions in the Gulf spiked last month after the attacks on Saudi oil facilities that halved the kingdom's crude output and set oil markets alight.