BREAKING NEWS

Report: Obama to visit Saudi Arabia amid tensions over Iran, Syria

President Barack Obama plans to travel to Saudi Arabia in March on a mission to smooth tensions with Washington's main Arab ally over US policy on Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria, a newspaper reported.

Obama is preparing to meet with King Abdullah for a summit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed Arab officials briefed on the meetings.

"This is about a deteriorating relationship" and declining trust, said a senior Arab official in discussing the need for the summit, which was pulled together in recent days, the newspaper reported.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.