#Trending: Saudi Twitter rallies behind embattled Baghdad ambassador

Saudi Arabian social media users have come to the aid of their ambassador to Baghdad after Iraqi authorities recently called for him to be replaced over his "meddlesome" comments.

The Saudi Twittersphere has rallied behind Thamer al-Sabhan after Iraq officially asked Saudi Arabia to replace the envoy for speaking out about an alleged plot by Iran-backed militias to assassinate him.

The Arabic-language hashtag #WeAreAllThamerSabhan has recently gained traction on Saudi Twitter in support of the divisive ambassador.

"The Iraqi government has lost its bearings and has changed its skin. The Arabian Gulf is an extension of Iraq's people, identity and history but [Iraq's current rulers] are 'a passing phase', " tweeted Saudi media figure Jamal Khashoggi.

"Ambassador Sabhan is more of an Iraqi nationalist than those who claim to have been born in Iraq and grew up there, however, his interests are far removed from Tehran's," he added.

Economist Abdallah al-Shammari said that the ambassador represented the "most important Islamic nation" and that any physical threats against him would amount to "an attack" from the Iraqi government.

Sunday's announcement came as an apparent response to persistent requests that Sabhan be expelled in reaction to claims that Iran-backed Shia militias were exacerbating tensions with Sunnis.

Saudi Arabia has long been critical of Iran's growing involvement in Iraq and the Shia militia forces that Baghdad has relied on to rid the country of the Islamic State group [IS].

Shia-led Iran and Sunni-led Saudi Arabia are regional rivals and broke off diplomatic ties in January after several years of frayed relations.

In 2011, US authorities said they had disrupted an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington at the time.

On Monday, a delegation from Yemen's Iran-backed and anti-Saudi Houthis rebels arrived in Baghdad to discuss the possibility of recognition for their recently-established political council.

The meeting will likely further stoke tensions between the rivals as a Saudi-led Arab coalition has been leading a military campaign against the rebels since March last year.