TEHRAN Arab dignitaries and hundreds of Saudis participated in funeral prayers Sunday for King Fahd's eldest son, Prince Faisal, who died of a heart attack, Associated Press said. Prince Faisal bin Fahd, 54, died in Riyadh's King Faisal specialist hospital on Saturday afternoon, hours after he was admitted with heart problems. He was not in line to the throne. His uncle, Crown Prince Abdullah, is the heir.

King Fahd, who is vacationing in Spain, did not attend the funeral. Fahd has been in poor health since he suffered a stroke in 1995. The prince's uncles, Crown Prince Abdullah, Defense Minister Prince Sultan and Interior Minister Prince Nayef, arrived from the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jiddah to attend the funeral and accept condolences. Arab dignitaries, including Jordanian Crown Prince Hamza, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, and Kuwaiti Minister of State Jaber Mubarak al Sabah attended the funeral.

But King Fahd who was "deeply moved" by death was unable to attned the funeral "because the doctors have said he is unable to make the journey in these circumstances" a Persian Gulf-based Arab diplomat told AFP.