RIYADH, September 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to the neighboring Gulf state of Qatar in a spiraling dispute worsened by accusations against the kingdom on the Doha-based Al-Jazeera satellite television station.

Ambassador Hamad al-Tuaimi flew back to Riyadh Monday, September 30, afternoon, diplomats told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A short statement carried by the official SPA news agency late Sunday, September 29, announced that the Saudi ambassador had been recalled from Doha for "consultations". It did not give further details.

It was the first time the kingdom has publicly announced the summoning home of an envoy posted in a fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state.

Apart from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Tensions surfaced between Doha and Riyadh in recent months after Al-Jazeera aired programs deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia.

The row between the Gulf neighbors was triggered by a June 25 live debate on Al-Jazeera in which participants criticized Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's Middle East peace initiative, accused Saudi Arabia of having "betrayed the Palestinian cause", and made disparaging remarks about the kingdom's founder.

"Saudi officials and ordinary citizens alike were angered by the hostility to the kingdom's founder, King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, that transpired from that debate," a Saudi official told AFP Monday, requesting anonymity.

Qatari leaders use Al-Jazeera "to score political and personal gains at the expense of Gulf and other Arab states," he charged.

A diplomat from a Gulf Arab state based in the Saudi capital said Riyadh had delivered a protest to Doha in early July after Al-Jazeera persisted in offering a platform to Saudi dissidents and critics of Saudi policy.

The Qatari reply came two weeks ago, "but it was apparently not convincing, prompting Saudi authorities to recall their ambassador," he told AFP.

A mediation bid by current GCC chairman Oman failed to ease tensions between the neighbors, the diplomat added.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal pointedly excluded Doha from a recent tour of GCC capitals, AFP said.

Crown Prince Abdullah was reported to have spoke against Al-Jazeera in front of fellow Gulf leaders during their year-end summit last December, accusing it of "discrediting" Gulf Arab monarchies.

Doha usually cites "press freedom" in defense of Al-Jazeera, whose programs have sparked tiffs between Qatar and several Arab states since it was launched in 1996.

Relations between Riyadh and Doha have often been uneasy even though the neighbors removed a key bone of contention when they signed a border accord in March 2001, bringing the curtain down on a longstanding territorial dispute.

An unspoken rivalry over ties with the United States has been a source of fresh tensions in recent months.

Relations between the United States and its longtime Saudi allies have been severely strained since the kingdom refused to serve as a launch-pad for attacks against Iraq.

Riyadh earlier refused to get involved in the U.S.-led war launched in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, while Doha has been readily granting the United States additional military facilities.

The Al-Udeid air base, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Doha, has emerged as a likely alternative to the Prince Sultan air base in Al-Kharj, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Riyadh, in the event of a U.S. strike on Iraq.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani told CNN Friday, September 13, that Qatar would consider an eventual request from its U.S. "ally" to use its territory as a launch-pad for a strike on Iraq, as Washington mulled a move of the U.S. Central Command's headquarters to the tiny Gulf state.

"We still don't have a direct request from the United States" to use air bases in Qatar to launch a military offensive against Iraq, he said.

"Of course we would like to end this [U.S.-Iraq standoff] without any military action, but we always consider [requests] from our friends. When we get a request, we [will] announce our [final] position," he added.

Sheikh Hamad stressed that Doha had "a very close relationship with the United States, and we consider the United States our ally," AFP said.

Moreover, "as a small country, we also rely on the United States' power [protection] in our region," he said.

The Qatari Foreign Minister - in an interview with pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat - said that he informed the GCC members of the current expansions in Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, including moving the U.S. central command in the region to Qatar.

None of the Gulf area countries object to it, he added.