Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will consult with regional ministers over the Middle East crisis on the sidelines of Asian security talks in Kuala Lumpur, his delegation said.

Mottaki made a surprise arrival here as foreign ministers gathered for the 26-nation Asean Regional Forum which is to be hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) today.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also in town for the talks but US officials ruled out a meeting with Mottaki, who is not an official participant in today's forum.

Top US envoy Christopher Hill said Mottaki's visit was related to negotiations over the Middle East crisis within the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is currently chaired by Malaysia.

"It has nothing to do with Secretary Rice. Secretary Rice is here for the Asean meeting, the Asean Regional Forum. We are not a member of the OIC," he said when asked if the two would meet.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Mottaki would hold bilateral talks with "quite a number" of the foreign ministers attending today's security dialogue.

"The minister has come here in the continuation of our consultations with different countries," he told reporters after the delegation landed in the Malaysian capital.

"They would consider the latest developments, especially in the Middle East region, and try to find ways in order to stop the adventurism of the Zionist regime in the region," he said, referring to Israel.

Co-ordinated response

The Iranian minister dismissed the US rejection of talks.

"I don't see the connection of the two visits," he said.

Malaysia is pushing for a coordinated response from the OIC to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, and is working on plans for a meeting of leaders of key Muslim countries to discuss the crisis.

Rice faces a grilling Friday over Washington's stance on Israel and the Lebanon conflict, especially after Tuesday's Israeli air strike on a UN post in southern Lebanon which killed four UN observers including a Chinese national.

Foreign ministers from the 10-nation Asean plus China, Japan and South Korea on Wednesday expressed their deep concern over Israel's "apparently deliberate targeting" of the UN post and vowed to raise the issue with Rice.

In addition to Asean members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the ARF groups Australia, Bangaladesh, Canada, China, East Timor, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.