A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Rumor or Disinformaton? Iran says ‘Omar Suleiman to Assist Crown Prince Nayef?

This is one of the wilder stories out there, and one must consider the source: Iran's PressTV, quoting Iran's Fars news agency: "Nayef Hires Egypt's Ex-Spy Chief."  Iran of course loves to portray Saudi Arabis in a bad light, but they're claiming that when Egypt's former intelligence chief and (briefly) Vice President &slquo;Omar Suleiman arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, newly  elevated Crown Prince Nayef appointed him his security advisor,

And, of course, they manage to mention Suleiman's close ties with Israeli intelligence.

Bear in mind that Nayef has been denouncing Iran for the alleged plot against the Saudi Ambassador to the US. This belongs in the category of coffeehouse gossip at best, given the source. But it's also something I couldn't resist passing on.

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