Saudi King Praises Shiite Cleric Sistani
Lesson Brief
Al Sumaria
On November 12, Al Sumaria reported that Iraqi President Fouad Masoum met with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz in a significant development for the governments' bilateral relations. Long at odds over various regional issues, most prominently Iraq's relationship with Iran, tension has waned since Iraq's new government was formed and the campaign against their mutual enemy ISIS began. During the meeting, the Saudi king praised the "rightly guided" stances adopted by Shiite mega-cleric Ali Sistani, who has taken a hard line against ISIS and who recently encouraged cooperation with neighboring countries.