Iraq brings together Mideast rivals in bid to ease tensions

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Arab heads of state and senior officials from the region including archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia are meeting at a conference hosted by Iraq. The meeting aims at easing Mideast tensions and emphasizing the Arab country’s new role as mediator. Among the participants Saturday are archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose rivalry has often played out in Iraq and other countries across the region, including Yemen and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia is represented by its foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Iran with its foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also arrived in Baghdad for the meeting.