Imran Khan Photo: IC

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Iran on Sunday following a request from the US and Saudi Arabia for him to try to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf.

Khan's office said his visit was part of an initiative "to promote peace and security in the region," and that he would hold talks with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

Khan landed in Tehran and was greeted at the airport by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif before going into a meeting with Rouhani, an AFP correspondent reported.

It is his second visit this year to Iran, which shares a border of about 1,000 ­kilometers with Pakistan.

Khan said last month that both the US and Saudi Arabia had asked him to mediate with Iran to calm tensions in the Gulf.

There has been a spate of still-­unexplained attacks on shipping in and around the vital seaway involving Iran and Western powers, as well as drone attacks on Saudi oil installations.

Washington accused Tehran of attacking the vessels with mines and of ­being behind the drone assault, something it strongly denies.

Pakistan has strong relations with Saudi Arabia, with more than 2.5 million of its nationals living and working in the kingdom.

But it also maintains good relations with Iran and represents Tehran's consular interests in the US.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the day before Khan's arrival that Tehran was ready to talk with Riyadh.

"Iran has repeatedly announced that it is ready to negotiate with its neighbors including Saudi Arabia to solve any ­misunderstandings with or without a mediator," Mousavi was quoted as saying by the semiofficial ISNA news agency.