* Arab summit supports Saudi, UAE right to defend interests

* Iraq objects to final communique

* Emergency summits follow attacks on pumping station, tankers

* Tensions rising between Iran and United States

* Iran vows to counter any economic, military aggression (Adds communiques, Iraq objection to summit statement)

By Marwa Rashad and Aziz El Yaakoubi

MECCA, Saudi Arabia, May 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's king told an emergency Arab summit on Thursday that decisive action was needed to stop Iranian "escalations" in the region following attacks on Gulf oil assets, as American officials said a U.S. military deployment had deterred Tehran.

A Gulf Arab statement and a separate communique issued after the wider summit both supported the right of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to defend their interests after the attacks on oil pumping stations in the kingdom and tankers off the UAE.

But in a sign of regional tensions, Iraq, which has good ties with neighbouring Iran and Washington, said it objected to the Arab communique, which stated that any cooperation with Tehran should be based on "non-interference in other countries".

"The absence of a firm deterrent stance against Iranian behaviour is what led to the escalation we see today," King Salman told the two late night consecutive meetings.

The ruler of the world's top crude exporter said Shi'ite Iran's development of nuclear and missile capabilities and its threatening of world oil supplies posed a risk to regional and global security.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the attacks on the four vessels near a major bunkering hub, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, were "efforts by Iranians to raise the price of crude oil around the world."

Riyadh accused Tehran of ordering the drone strikes, which were claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that evidence of Iran's being behind the tanker attacks would be presented to the U.N. Security Council as early as next week.

Tehran denies any involvement.

Iraqi President Barham Salih, asking the gathering to support his country's stability, said that rising tensions with Iran could spark a war if not managed well and voiced hope that Iran's security would not be targeted.

Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have said they do not want war.

"The kingdom is keen to preserve the stability and security of the region, to spare it the scourge of war and to realise peace and stability," King Salman said.

Tensions have risen between the United States and Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump a year ago withdrew Washington from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, re-imposed sanctions and boosted its military presence in the Gulf.