The story: A factional dispute over the governorship in Diyala has underscored divisions within Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework. The eastern governorate is seen by observers as a major battleground for Iran-backed parties vying for control over lucrative pilgrimage, trade, and smuggling routes to neighboring Iran. Significantly, the impasse signals the potential for further contention among Coordination Framework members and may bode ill for the coalition’s viability. 

The coverage: The political crisis in DIyala has ballooned since last December’s provincial elections—Iraq’s first in a decade. By February, the 15-member provincial council—made up of seven Shiites, seven Sunnis and...