RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al Awsat and Agencies) – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney sought Saudi help in dealing with Iraq’s spiraling violence and other regional trouble spots where U.S. policy is on the line: Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Cheney’s visit with King Abdullah on Saturday was brief, lasting only a few hours before he flew back to Washington, but it underlined the two allies’ concerns over upheavals across the Middle East, which many Arabs blame on U.S. policies.

In a sign of the urgency of the U.S. concern, President George W. Bush is scheduled to meet with Iraq’s prime minister in the Jordanian capital Wednesday and Thursday to discuss security matters.

The meeting at Yamama Palace likely focused on Iraq and Lebanon, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian front, which stands at a key crossroads amid attempts to form a new Palestinian government and to get peace negotiations going.

Before the meeting, a Saudi official said Cheney was expected to ask Saudi Arabia to use its considerable influence with Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority to promote reconciliation with Iraqi Shiites and Kurds. Sunni insurgents have staged some of the bloodiest attacks on U.S. troops and Shiites.

The Governor of Baghdad, Maeen al Kadhimi told Asharq Al Awsat Saturday that the situation in the Iraqi capital is “alarming”. He said, “Sectarian tensions have widened and have now engulfed various areas of the capital such as Horreya, Fadhl, Adhamiya and Kazimiya.”

Security authorities confirmed the arrest of one man accused of involvement in the Sadr blasts that killed over 200 people. Commanders from the Omar Army in Iraq are also suspected of involvement.

Dr Fouad al Masoum, leader of the Kurdish bloc in Iraqi parliament told Asharq Al Awsat, “The sectarian conflict that Iraq is experiencing must be addressed immediately,” highlighting that the Kurds will not merely stand-by as the conflict continues. “There must be some sort of control over the situation. If they fail to curb the groups, militias and individuals responsible, they will not be able to control security,” al Masoum added.

On Lebanon, the Saudi official said the kingdom wants to ensure there are no cracks in support for the U.S.-backed government, which is opposed by groups allied with Syria and Iran.

The official said Saudi Arabia hopes Washington will not snub any Palestinian government that emerges from talks between the militants of Hamas and the more moderate Fatah faction. The U.S. and other nations have shunned the current government led by Hamas, which has refused to recognize Israel and renounce violence against the Jewish state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, is trying to work out a new unity government with Hamas, but Arabs hope the U.S. will be flexible with how much Hamas must moderate to allow a resumption of the peace process with U.S. ally Israel.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries on the Persian Gulf are also deeply concerned over the West’s confrontation with Iran over that nation’s suspect nuclear program.

Gulf countries worry about the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran and its attempts to expand its influence in the Middle East. But they also fear the West’s attempt to force Iran to rein in its program could bring Iranian reprisals.