Ahmadinejad to attend OIC summit in Mecca

TEHRAN, Aug. 6 (MNA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Saudi Arabia to participate in the emergency meeting of the Islamic Cooperation Organization in Mecca which is intended to discuss the issues facing the Islamic world particularly the ongoing conflict in Syria and the massacre of Muslims in Myanmar. The conference will be held on August 15-16. “Following the Saudi king’s invitation to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s president for participation in the meeting of the Islamic countries which is going to be held in Mecca the Islamic Republic of Iran’s president will participate in the conference,” Mohammad Reza Forqani, director of the president’s office for international affairs, told the Mehr News Agency. Saudi King Abdullah "sent a written letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inviting him to attend the extraordinary Islamic solidarity meeting which will be held in Mecca" the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday. President Ahmadinejad will hold talks with certain summiteers on the sidelines of the conference. Tensions have been running high between Saudi Arabia and Iran as the two countries have taken opposite stances on the uprisings in Bahrain and Syria. Iran had voiced support for uprising in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain to crush the uprising last year. Confrontations have also intensified recently within Saudi Arabia between police and marginalized Shia community. The Saudis have previously called for arming Syrian rebels against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.