AMMAN: Jordan’s king met on Monday with an influential Iraqi Shia leader, as the United States stepped up efforts to contain the influence of Shia-led Iran in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, a US ally and leader of the region’s camp of Sunni Muslim states that also includes Jordan, is concerned about the influence of its regional rival Iran in Iraq.

On Monday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II received Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia leader who in the past urged Shia militias in Iraq to disband. A palace statement said the two talked about the need for expanding trade and economic cooperation, but provided no details.

A day earlier, Abdullah had met with Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi.

The meetings came after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Tillerson made the case for containing and isolating Iran in the Middle East, pushing Saudi Arabia and Iraq to unite to counter growing Iranian assertiveness.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2017