Osama bin Laden has accused Barack Obama of sowing the seeds of hatred in the Arab world, in a new audio tape that was broadcast today as the President started his diplomatic tour of the Middle East.

The recording was released on the Arabic television station al-Jazeera soon after Mr Obama landed in Saudi Arabia. The timing appears to be an attempt to undermine the President’s intention of reaching out to the Muslim world and invigorating the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Bin Laden is heard on the tape warning Americans that they will reap the consequences of Mr Obama's anti-Muslim policies.

"Obama and his administration have planted seeds for hatred and revenge against America," says the fugitive leader of the al-Qaeda terror movement.

He condemned America's support for the Pakistan army campaign against the Taliban in the Swat region, which has displaced 2.4 million people.

“He has followed the steps of his predecessor in antagonising Muslims... and laying the foundation for long wars. Let the American people prepare to harvest the crops of what the leaders of the White House plant in the next years and decades."

A Saudi government spokesman in Riyadh belittled the new tape, saying it was a sign of desperation.

The tape is the second to be released by al-Qaeda in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, Ayman al-Zawahri, its No 2, was heard calling on Muslims to shun the US President, saying his visit was at the invitation of the “torturers of Egypt” and the “slaves of America".

Mr Obama received a red carpet welcome from King Abdullah when Air Force One touched down in Riyadh today. A band played each country’s national anthem, the Saudi national guard was on parade and artillery fired a 21-gun salute.

Mr Obama and King Abdullah sat together in gilded chairs, sipped cardamom-flavored Arabic coffee from small cups and chatted briefly in public before retreating to hold private talks at the king’s desert stud, where some 260 Arabian steeds live in air-conditioned comfort.

Guards on horseback flanked the long driveway, carrying swords and flags of the two countries as the king and his guest arrived.

The Saudi initiative that the president and King Abdullah were to discuss calls for normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel, withdrawal by Israel from Arab land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an “equitable” solution for Palestinian refugees.

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