The announcement said the decision was taken in Saudi Arabia's ``national interests''.

``In keeping with national interests, the foreign ministry has been notified to withdraw the Saudi charge d'affaires from Afghanistan immediately and to ask the Afghanistan charge d'affaires in Riyadh to leave the kingdom'', the statement by the royal court said.

Media reports quoted a Saudi official as saying that the Saudi foreign ministry had informed Afghanistan of the decision.

Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that have recognised the Taliban government. The other two are the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan.

Diplomats in the region said the decision seemed to indicate a strain in relations between Riyadh and the Taliban and also a feeling that a one-sided solution would not work in Afghanistan.

Moreover, the Taliban has been sheltering Saudi-born millionaire Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of masterminding the two bomb attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7. He has also been linked to two attacks on Americans in Saudi Arabia.

After the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the US carried out a military strike against what was described as a bin Laden base in Taliban territory.

Bin Laden has denied involvement in the attacks on the US embassies. The Taliban have reprimanded him for his anti-American statements but made it clear that they would not hand him over to the US.

Meanwhile, Iran's parliament held a special closed-door session in Tehran yesterday to discuss the recent developments in Afghanistan and the mounting tension between Iran and the Taliban.

Irna, the official Iranian news agency, quoted an official as saying that the ministers of defence and information briefed members and answered queries about the situation.

He said some of the 12 deputies who spoke at the meeting criticised the government's handling of the crisis but they appreciated the steps taken by the army to boost its presence on the country's border with Afghanistan.

``Although Iran is not presently opting for a military response to Taliban's despicable act, various alternatives in this respect have to be discussed and considered,'' the official said.

He was referring to the killing of eight Iranian diplomats and an Irna correspondent by Taliban fighters after the militia captured the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on August 8.

``We have made finding a diplomatic solution our priority,'' Iranian deputy foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as telling Irna yesterday.

``(Diplomacy) is our goal and we don't want to put a time limit on it,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Iranian president Mohammed Khatami returned to Tehran this morning from New York where he addressed the UN General Assembly.

``Iran is ready to defend its security and territorial integrity,'' he told a news conference in New York yesterday.

``But we are making all efforts so that, God willing, there will not be a war,'' he said.