Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said March 2 that unnamed neighboring countries and countries farther away are funding political opponents of his State of Law coalition in the March 7 parliamentary elections, the BBC reported. Al-Maliki also criticized Saudi Arabia for not sending an ambassador to Baghdad, and said that if the Saudis are interested in improving relations, they are welcome to send one, but if they do not seek to improve relations, they are free to do that. Al-Maliki also said that Iraq welcomes good relations with Iran, but is not seeking an alliance with the country's ruling clerics.