Leaders of the member states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) will hold their ninth consultative summit in Riyadh mid- May.

The four years since US President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” have been a legacy of missed opportunities, ineffectual plans, surges and course corrections that have always been too little, too late or both, critics say.

Iraq’s foreign minister said Sunday that he expects to soon see “substantive discussions” among US, Iranian and Iraqi diplomats on improving security and stability in his country. But it was unclear if the United States and Iran had agreed to a meeting.