Saudi Arabia's King Salman is seen during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Erga Palace in Riyadh January 27, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Jim Bourg
Reuters: Saudi king aims for new Sunni bloc vs Iran and Islamic State
(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is pushing for Sunni Muslim Middle East countries to set aside differences over political Islam and focus on what it sees as more urgent threats from Iran and Islamic State.
Its new monarch, King Salman, has used summits with leaders of all five Gulf Arab states, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey over the past 10 days to reinforce the need for unity and find a way to work around disagreements over the Muslim Brotherhood.
Saudi Arabia's deep-seated mistrust of the Islamist group is unchanged, diplomats say. But King Salman's approach to it is more nuanced than that of his predecessor King Abdullah, who died in January, and may include being more indulgent of allies who allow its members space to operate.
WNU Editor: At the moment I do not see this happening .... there are just too many differences within the Sunni community on how to establish such a bloc, and who would be included. But if the Islamic State continues to grow and if Iran continues to pursue its aggressive foreign/military policine in the Middle East .... this may actually come to fruition.
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