ANALYSIS-Wikileaks expose hidden Gulf views on Iran

* Leaks show rising Gulf Arab fear of Iran

* Region united in opposition to nuclear programme

* Iran should take note, analysts say

By Ulf Laessing and Raissa Kasolowsky

RIYADH/DUBAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The disclosure in leaked U.S. cables that Gulf Arab leaders want Washington to destroy Iran's nuclear programme exposes long-hidden views that will kill any chance of detente with Tehran.

From Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, to tiny Bahrain, Gulf Arab rulers revealed a reality they had spent years trying to hide publicly.

The views in the cables released by the WikiLeaks website contrast with the public stance of those Sunni rulers whose statements on their religious rivals in Shi'ite Iran and its nuclear programme have until now been far more conciliatory.

The revelations, however, do confirm the depth of suspicion and hatred of the Shi'ites among Sunni Arab leaders, especially in Saudi Arabia, the leading Sunni power and which regards Iran as an existential threat.

That concern was intensified by the rise of the Shi'ites in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 -- the first time the Shi'ites have controlled an Arab heartland country for nearly a millennium.