Iraq says it has requested Saudi Arabia to replace its ambassador in Baghdad.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Jamal said on August 28 that Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government sent a formal request to Riyadh to replace the Sunni-ruled kingdom's ambassador, Thamer al-Sabhan.
The move comes after Sabhan was quoted as saying that Iraqi intelligence provided him with information about a plot to assassinate him.
He allegedly said this was happening as Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, Iran, tries to block reform efforts in Iraq and other Arab countries.
Jamal said Sabhan's comments were untrue and harm relations between the two countries.
Sabhan has also been calling on Iraq's government to exclude Shi'ite paramilitary groups from its military campaign against the Islamic State militant group.
Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Baghdad in December after keeping it shut since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
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