Riyadh Urged to Hold Talks With Tehran

Leader of Iraq's National Alliance Ammar al-Hakim called on Saudi Arabia to resolve disputes with Iran over regional issues through dialogue and said Baghdad can help the two countries reconcile their stances. Speaking to the state television, Hakim pointed to disputes among some Middle Eastern countries over the Syrian crisis and said Iraq has proposed a plan to hold a joint meeting of five regional powers, namely Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq, Tasnim News Agency reported. Baghdad has called for holding the talks because it believes that disputes can "provide a pretext for presence of trans-regional military forces in the region", the cleric said. He called on "Saudi brothers" to engage in dialogue with Iran and said regional countries should come to the negotiating table to understand each other's concerns and settle their disputes because otherwise, it would be to the detriment of all sides. Hakim, who is also the head of Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, emphasized that Baghdad can play "a positive role" in bringing the stances of Iran and Saudi Arabia closer.