Saddam blasts 'Iran's meddling' in Iraq

"President Saddam complained of being cut off from world news and told us 'I don't know what is happening on the outside'," the head of Jordan's Bar Association, Saleh al-Armuti, told the Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper.

"We briefed him on major Iraqi, Arab and international affairs, led by the (Iraqi) resistance, the pressure on Syria and the Iranian nuclear crisis" during the Sunday meeting, Armuti said.

Saddam, who is being held in a US-controlled prison in the Iraqi capital, then expressed his displeasure over "Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs".

He also described international pressure on Baathist-ruled Syria as "natural ... because of the nationalistic positions of President (Bashar) al-Assad," Armuti said.