“Ahemd Jamal, spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, said such claims were fabricated only meant to damage the relations between Baghdad and Riyadh”
(By Nino Orto) Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq crumbling after the alleged assassination attempt of the Saudi ambassador in Baghdad. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the assassins were members of the Iraqi Shiite militia groups directly connected to the Iranian government.
The Saudi ambassador in Baghad stated that the plan included the utilisation of fake plate numbers from the Ministry of Interior to intercept the Saudi Ambassador and the use of rocket-propelled grenade to destroy ambassador’s car. Eventually, the cars of killers would move into the Sunni enclave of al-Radwaneyye to hide their identity and blame ISIS for the assassination.
A statement made by Press TV indicates that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has rejected allegations made by pro-Saudi media reports. Spokesman for the Iraqi ministry Ahmed Jamal also dismissed allegations that shiite fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units had devised plots to assassinate the Saudi envoy. Jamal, spokesman for the Ministry said such claims were fabricated only meant to damage the relations between Baghdad and Riyadh.
Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry of Iraq has contacted the Saudi Arabia government, first time in more than a quarter of a century, with a formal request to withdraw its Ambassador in Baghdad, after the diplomat accused Iran of fomenting sectarian strife.
The Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, Ahmad Jamal called on Riyadh as soon as possible to find a replacement for the 49-year-old diplomat Thamer al-Sabhan. “We did our best to facilitate the reopening of the Saudi embassy in Iraq to improve bilateral relations” he stated. But the Ambassador statements are “unacceptable”.
(Sources: Asharq Al-Awsat, Press TV, Washington Post)
