A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday near the Gulf port city of Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant, killing at least three people, state television and officials said.

Iranian news agencies made no immediate mention of damage to the plant in the area of Kaki, nearly 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of Bushehr.

Saudi authorities beheaded a citizen in the northern town of Hael Tuesday after he was convicted of intentionally causing the deaths of three people during a car chase, the interior ministry announced.

Talal bin Fayez al-Shemmari "intentionally hit the car" carrying three men -- Abdelkarim al-Shemmari, Mufawaz bin Falhi al-Shemmari and Walid bin Radi al-Shemmari -- during a high-speed car chase "due to a dispute between them," the ministry said.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed on Monday its "keenness on continuing the development of its distinguished relations with Lebanon”, expressing its hope that the assignment of PM-designate Tammam Salam to form the cabinet will contribute to the “stability and prosperity of the country”.

"We are keen on continuing the improvement of the special relations with have with Lebanon,” the Saudi cabinet said in a released statement.

The Saudi Embassy in Beirut denied on Monday a report saying that several Lebanese nationals were informed that the kingdom halted issuing visas for the Lebanese.

“The report is false... Visas are still being issued according to the adopted mechanism without any changes,” the embassy said in a statement.

Iran has barred a Saudi diplomat allegedly involved in a deadly drink-driving accident from leaving the country, Fars news agency cited top lawmaker as saying on Sunday.

The unnamed diplomat was "barred from leaving until the clarification of the (legal) status" of the case, Allaedin Boroujerdi, who heads the parliament's influential foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying.

Saudi Arabia has given illegal foreign workers a three-month grace period to legalize their status, after panic over reported mass deportations, an official statement said.

King Abdullah ordered the interior and labor ministries to allow "workers violating the labor and residency system a maximum of three months to rectify their situation," said the statement carried by SPA state news agency.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miaqati expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for its willingness to nominate him to form the new cabinet, assuring that he will run for the 2013 parliamentary elections, al-Akhbar daily quoted him as saying.

“Saudi Arabia wanted to name me to form the new cabinet, but (ex-PM Saad) Hariri declined,” he told the paper in an interview on Saturday, adding that he will run for the upcoming polls, but is currently waiting for an electoral law to be approved and adopted.

A Saudi man convicted of murder was beheaded by the sword on Saturday in the capital, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Saud bin Diri al-Anezi was found guilty of stabbing Yassef bin Eid al-Anezi to death in an argument, the statement said.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri assured that the designation of MP Tammam Salam to form the new cabinet was a strictly Lebanese choice, denying any Saudi role in naming him, As Safir daily quoted the ambassador in an interview on Saturday.

“I have reiterated before that the solution in Lebanon cannot but be inter-Lebanese, and that is what makes it continuous. Lebanon's fate is in the hands of its son,” said Asiri.

MP Tamman Salam is expected to be named the prime minister of a new government amid reports that his nomination is part of a Saudi Arabian settlement that includes the formation of the cabinet and staging of the parliamentary elections.

LBCI television said Friday that the elections will likely be postponed to September or October at the latest.