Muslim leaders prepare for meeting on Gulf war

January 19, 1981

A meeting of Islamic foreign ministers opened in Saudi Arabia with neither Iran nor Libya present. The meeting will prepare the agenda for a summit session starting Jan. 25 which many nations had hoped might find a solution to the four-month-old Iran-Iraq war. Iran has declared it will boycott the summit if Iraq's President Saddam Hussein attends. The conflic has deepened Arab differences and is expected to domi nate summit discussions.