Tony Blair has returned to the UK after a three-day tour of the Middle East in which he sought to bolster support for the war against terror.

On the final day of his tour, Blair visited Cairo for crucial talks aimed at building the Western-led coalition's support in the Middle East.

Blair has launched a propaganda offensive throughout the Arab world in a bid to win hearts and minds as military strikes against Afghanistan intensify.

He met with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, following an intensified night of bombing raids on Afghanistan, on the last leg of his whistle stop diplomatic mission in the region.

"President Mubarak is a key figure in the Arab world. He has been courageous in support of us in this situation," he told journalists.

Top of the agenda for the meeting with Egypt's premier was the country's vital support in the international fight against terrorism and efforts to kick-start a stalled Middle East peace process.

The visit came as a poll conducted by Ramallah's Bir Zeit university, published in the Jerusalem Post, found that 89 per cent of Palestinians believe America's attacks on Afghanistan are unjustified and 76 per cent are opposed to any Arab participation in the coalition.

"One thing that's increasingly clear is that we need to upgrade considerably our media and public opinion campaign in the Arab world," Blair said.

Seeking to prove that the pen is at least as mighty as the sword the PM has written an article for the Arab press countering portrayals of the conflict as a "clash" between the West and Islam.

In the article, Blair seeks to give the fight against Osama Bin Laden a more universal appeal stressing Al Qaeda's aims to set fundamentalist regimes throughout the region.

"When people in those countries think about that it fills them with horror," Blair said. "[Bin Laden's] biggest weakness is with all the various fundamentalist groups - their views on human rights, the role of women, religious freedom, business and enterprise are all views which are abhorrent to the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims."

The prime minister spoke to Yasser Arafat by telephone last night in continuing diplomatic attempts to bring the Palestinians and Israelis to the negotiating table - an initiative viewed as pivotal in defusing Arab hostility to Western military action.

"There's a genuine, deep feeling about the Middle East peace process and it's important people understand that. We need to show people in the region that we are absolutely sincere in our desire to push it forward and get it back on track," he said.

Tony Blair's tour of the middle east continued after a fourth night of air strikes in Afghanistan.

He left the Gulf state of Oman after meeting with British troops on Wednesday.

In a move seen as a possible change in emphasis from air strikes to a ground effort, Blair told soldiers that they may soon be needed.

The visit to Oman was a clear sign that Blair is moving to strengthen the coalition against terror. Number 10 sources say the prime minister held "very good" discussions with the Sultan of Oman, saying he saw "the current situation in much the same terms as we do".

Number 10 has revealed that British diplomats are investigating the possibility of a possible visit to Saudi Arabia, although the authorities have warned such an event would prove "logistically difficult" in the current climate.

His Middle East tour began as Bin Laden threatened further terrorist outrages.

Blair, who has already appeared on Arab television to shore up support for the attacks against Afghanistan, said the latest threats underline the importance of acting against Bin Laden's network.

"Unless we stop Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network they will continue to hijack, to kill innocent people," he said.

He also made clear that the attacks on Afghanistan are only one aspect of the West's plans. In a move seen as evidence that Britain wants to oust the Taliban regime he said the coalition would "not walk away again" and leave the Afghan people suffering.

Blair's visit came is emerged that air strikes had already hit 85 per cent of the US's targets in Afghanistan.

With air strikes now continuing around the clock, it is predicted that the US will put ground troops in place within days.