Message from Hussein to Hrawi, Iraqi embassy to reopen?

Diplomatic sources told the Lebanese daily al-Nahar that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will send Foreign Minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf to Lebanon on October 7, conveying a message to Lebanese President Elias Hrawi.

The sources added that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has started contacts in order to learn about the nature of the message to be carried by the envoy of the Iraqi president.

The sources did not rule out that the message is related to the Iraqi desire to reopen the Iraqi embassy to Lebanon and the Lebanese embassy in Iraq. The two countries had, one month earlier, appointed embassy employees to facilitate moves between the two sides. The sources also did not rule out that al-Sahaf's mission is linked to explaining his country's position toward UNSCOM.