Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah on Tuesday called on Arab states to end rifts he said were obstructing joint Arab action.

"The dangers around us are enormous and we will not move towards joint Arab action without our unity and without casting aside our difference," Sheikh Sabah told Arab heads of state at a summit in Kuwait.

He named no specific country, but was apparently referring to disputes among Arab states over the role of Islamists in the region and what many Gulf states see as Iranian interference in their affairs.