Iraq's foreign ministry summoned Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Baghdad on Sunday to protest his "interference" in the country's internal affairs over remarks on militia forces fighting the Islamic State group. Thamer al-Sabhan is the first Baghdad-based Saudi ambassador in a quarter century, but while full diplomatic relations are restored, there is still significant hostility to Riyadh in some quarters and there have already been calls for the envoy's expulsion.
The foreign ministry summoned Sabhan "to inform him of its official protest regarding his media statements that represented interference in Iraqi internal affairs," it said in a statement.