Iraq Requests New Saudi Envoy After Assassination Remarks

“He interfered badly in many Iraqi internal affairs and he tried to bring into Iraq the problems between his country and Iran”, said Ahmed Jamal, Iraq’s foreign ministry spokesman.

“This is a first step, which shows that members of Congress are increasingly ready to move from expressing private concerns to the administration to taking public action to reduce US support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen”, said Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy.

The two countries broke diplomatic ties in 1991 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and fired rockets into Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi ambassador said Sunday the call for his dismissal was an easy way for Iraqi officials to avoid embarrassment as they ignore his claims of being targeted for assassination.

The move comes after Sabhan was quoted as saying that Iraqi intelligence provided him with information about a plot to assassinate him.

Later on Sunday, Sabhan told the pan-Arab Arabiyah channel that the relation between Baghdad and Riyadh will not be harmed and the Iraqi government’s call of replacement was probably made under pressure by some political parties and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units. “Al-Sabhan didn’t inform us as a ministry, or the government or the security ministries about an assassination attempt” allegedly carried out by a Shiite militia, the spokesman said.

“We waited a long time to have a Saudi embassy opened in Iraq”, said Ra’ad al-Dahlaki, a Sunni member of parliament”. News stories displayed here appear in our category for global and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.

Sabhan, responding to messages expressing solidarity with him after the Iraqi announcement, tweeted: “I am a servant of this (Saudi) leadership which is seeking to assist the truth and the well being of Muslims, may God preserve it”.

Sabhan also noted that his latest statements on Iran have “disturbed” some Iraqi factions, but added that the Iraqi people have always been keen on maintaining friendly relations with Riyadh and Baghdad. Iraq has since been angered by the views Sabhan aired in the media and Jamal said the envoy was repeatedly urged to refrain from commenting publicly on Iraqi affairs.