Saudi Arabia's King Salman opened an emergency summit of Gulf Arab leaders in Mecca yesterday with a call for the international community to use all means to confront Iran. But, he also said the kingdom extends its hand for peace.<br />''<br />''King Salman was speaking at the first of three high-level summits in Mecca that were urgently convened after a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran.<br />''<br />''Speaking at a gathering of the Gulf Cooperation Council, King Salman said the alleged sabotage of four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and a drone attack on a key Saudi oil pipeline earlier this month requires serious efforts to protect the security and the gains of the six energy-rich Arab nations.<br />''<br />''Iran denies being involved in the attacks. Attending yesterday night's GCC summit were the leaders of Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as senior officials from the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.<br />''<br />''The meeting will be immediately followed with an emergency summit of the 22-nation Arab League, minus Syria whose membership remains suspended.<br />''<br />''Another summit is expected today, focusing largely on Palestinian statehood and independence. It will bring together leaders from the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is headquartered in Saudi Arabia.<br />''<br />''<br />