Five Arab countries and Turkey have reiterated that President Bashar Assad should have no role in the future of Syria, as Russia and the United States proposed a peace conference.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as that of Turkey -- all supporters of the Syrian opposition -- expressed their stand at a meeting late Monday in Abu Dhabi, WAM Emirati news agency said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warned on Monday of the possibility of Syria breaking up and its conflict spilling across the Middle East unless a political solution can end the bloodshed.

"God forbid, if there was a void, or disintegration, in Syria, this crisis would spill over into all countries in the region," said Salehi, whose country is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syria's opposition will consult with backers Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey before it decides whether to take part in a peace conference proposed by the United States and Russia, its acting chief said Monday.

"It is too early to decide whether or not we will take part, because the circumstances of this conference are not yet clear. There is no agenda or calendar yet," said the opposition National Coalition's acting head George Sabra.

Panic gripped Saudis in the country's east on Monday, where most cases of the deadly coronavirus have been detected, witnesses said, as the death toll from the SARS-like virus in the kingdom hit 15.

Scores of people have reported to the emergency services at hospitals in the city of Al-Ahsa in Eastern Province, after showing even the slightest signs of a fever.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat slammed on Monday the criticism directed against him by some members of the March 8 camp, saying that he will not get embroiled in “pointless debates” with them over the formation of a new government.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anba website: “The cabinet that grants eight ministers to the March 8, March 14, and centrist blocs offers the best representation and avoids schemes to obstruct political life in Lebanon.”

Saudi Arabia's interior minister on Sunday discussed security cooperation with Yemen, home to Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Yemen's official Saba news agency reported from the neighboring kingdom.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef discussed with Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi in Saudi Arabia "strengthening bilateral security cooperation for preserving security in both countries," Saba said.

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens on Sunday after he was convicted of killing a relative in the kingdom's north, the interior ministry said.

Awad Rawili stabbed to death Jazaa Rawili, a relative, during an argument , said the statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

A Saudi court jailed a Lebanese man for six years and sentenced him to 300 lashes after convicting him of encouraging a Saudi woman to convert to Christianity, local dailies reported Sunday.

The same court sentenced a Saudi man convicted in the same case to two years in prison and 200 lashes for having helped the young woman flee the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, local daily Al-Watan said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks on Saturday with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region.

They addressed efforts to form a new government and reach an agreement on a new parliamentary electoral law, announced Hariri's media office in a statement on Sunday.

Saudi King Abdullah has dismissed and retired air force chief General Mohammed al-Ayesh by royal decree, the official SPA news agency reported on Friday, without elaborating on why.

The monarch named General Fayadh bin Hamed al-Rowaili to succeed him, the agency added.