WASHINGTON Ñ Saudi Arabia has denied the United States the use of an air force base for an attack against Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden.

Pentagon officials said Riyad rejected a U.S. request to use the Prince Sultan Air Base to launch any offensive against either Bin Laden bases in Afghanistan or any of his foreign sponsors. The officials said the U.S. military regards the base as a key asset in any U.S. attack from the Persian Gulf region.

So far, the United States has sent more than 100 fighter-jets and thousands of military troops to the Gulf. But the Saudi denial of an air force base has hampered U.S. plans for an attack, the officials said. The officials said the Saudi move could delay an air strike against Bin Laden for several weeks. The base hosts 4,500 U.S. personnel and has been used for U.S. air patrols over the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.

Saudi diplomatic sources confirmed that the kingdom rejected the U.S. request. Riyad has been the most reluctant of Washington's Arab allies in responding to a U.S request to form an international coalition against Bin Laden. Some Saudi sources have even ruled out an intelligence exchange to help capture Bin Laden.

In Jedda, Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers expressed what they termed was "total support and cooperation for international efforts to find the sponsors of the terrorist acts and to bring them to justice." The GCC foreign ministers did not elaborate in their statement on Sunday.

Publicly, administration officials have not acknowledged a dispute between Riyad and Washington. The officials said the United States has refrained from asking the Saudis to do things they are not deemed capable of fulfilling.

"We have Ñ insofar as I'm aware, we have gotten everything that we Ñ from Saudi Arabia that we have asked them to do," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "Now, we have not asked them to do some things, but I have been in touch with the Saudi leadership, and there is no question but that they are our friends and that they are determined to deal with this problem of terrorism just as we are."

State Department officials said they are still hoping to obtain some support from the kingdom. Over the weekend, officials maintained that Riyad has expressed support for the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

Robert Jordan, nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Riyad has pledged to stabilize oil prices, which have risen sharply in wake of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

"One of the first messages of condolence received by our government was from Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, condemning the attacks and pledging any assistance the Kingdom can offer," Jordan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Friday. "The day after the attacks, Saudi Arabia released a statement in which it declared Saudi oil exports to the U.S. to be stable, adding that any export shortfalls on the international market will be filled by OPEC."

But Jordan said Riyad and Washington continue to argue over several issues, particularly human rights and religious freedom.

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