SandBox Comments: Durango Herald "Saudi Arabia names ambassador to Iraq"

Sameer N. Yacoub:
"Saudi Arabia is taking a major step toward thawing diplomatic relations with Iraq by posting an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time in more than two decades, Iraq's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Hoshyar Zebari said that the Saudi envoy to Jordan, Fahad Abdul Muhsin al-Zayd, will also act as a non-resident ambassador to Iraq. He will arrive in Baghdad soon to submit his credentials from Riyadh.

"We welcome this development which represents a good restart and a step to normalize the relations between the two countries," Zebari told The Associated Press.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry confirmed the appointment in a statement.

Relations between the Saudis' powerful Sunni kingdom and the Shiite-led government in Iraq have been frosty for years. Riyadh and other Gulf states cut diplomatic ties with Baghdad after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990...." (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBox Comments: The Guardian UK "Iran's alleged Mexican hitman was US drugs informant"

"The Iranian plot the US government says aimed to murder Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington allegedly fell down because a member of the Mexican Zeta drug cartel hired to carry out the job for $1.5m was actually a US informant.

The informant told the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) in May that he had been contacted by alleged Iranian agent Manssor Arbabsiar. They held several meetings in Mexico which were taped. Methods discussed reportedly included a targeted assassination and a bomb...." 

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