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RIYADH — Saudi Arabia denied on Friday that its officials had discussed with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates putting pressure on China to back a new round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

An "official source" quoted by the official SPA news agency said reports that Riyadh said it was willing to use its influence to get Beijing to support UN sanctions aimed at convincing Iran to halt its atomic programme were false.

"This issue is not true, it was not discussed during the visit of the secretary of defence who was in the kingdom recently," the source was cited as saying.

The Saudi government often expresses its official view on sensitive topics as unidentified "official sources" speaking to SPA.

A Saudi official aware of the SPA statement told AFP the government did not wish to elaborate.

Gates visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss Washington's push for new sanctions on Iran.

Western governments, particularly the United States and France, are seeking further sanctions on Tehran in the hope of stopping the Islamic republic's nuclear drive, which they suspect may be aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes.

Gates told reporters in Abu Dhabi that he felt the two Gulf countries are willing to use their economic leverage to persuade China to lift its opposition to sanctions.

"I have the sense that there's a ... >>>