Olmert Met With Saudi Official, Report Says

JERUSALEM — An Israeli newspaper reported yesterday that Prime Minister Olmert secretly met with a senior Saudi Arabian official to discuss Iran's nuclear program and peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

The daily Yediot Achronot quoted an unspecified number of anonymous Israeli officials as saying that Mr. Olmert met with King Abdullah "10 days ago." It described other officials as hinting that the talks were with a senior official close to the king. None of the officials disclosed the location of the purported meeting or what was supposed to have been said, according to the paper.

Saudi Arabia, which has no official diplomatic ties with Israel, has been trying to revive a regional peace initiative that it presented in 2002. Israel rejected the plan at the time, but Mr. Olmert has indicated that he might be more open than his predecessor, Ariel Sharon.

When asked byYediot last week if Israel had secret contacts with Saudi Arabia, Mr. Olmert said: "I do not have to answer every question."

Cabinet Minister Gideon Ezra refused to confirm or deny yesterday's report. "I know what I read in the newspaper," Mr. Ezra told Israel Radio."I think this is the correct way to respond. ... [E]very extra word about these issues is unnecessary."

Yediot first reported last week that Israel and Saudi Arabia had been holding secret talks since fighting erupted in July between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Israel and the American government say Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Saudi Arabia's peace initiative called for a full Israeli withdrawal from lands it captured in the 1967 Middle East war in exchange for normalization and relations with all Arab countries. Mr. Sharon rejected it outright, but Mr. Olmert struck a different tone in the interview with Yediot last week.