ROME, June 12 (Reuters) - The White House called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to take up immediate consideration of the situation in Zimbabwe after reports of "state-sponsored violence" and political arrests there.

"We believe the time has come for the United Nations Security Council to take up immediately the issue to prevent further deterioration of the region's humanitarian and security situation," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement issued in Rome where President George W. Bush is visiting.

A senior U.N. official is scheduled to visit Zimbabwe next week to discuss the political situation and the presidential election runoff on June 27 between longtime President Robert Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The opposition party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, was taken into custody at the airport after he flew to Zimbabwe from South Africa to help Tsvangirai's election campaign.

Perino said the United States was "deeply troubled" by the arrest.

"The continued use of state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe and the regime's actions, including unwarranted arrests of opposition figures," were signs that international calls to end intimidation tactics had been rejected, she said. (Writing by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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