The story: Iraqi lawmakers have failed to name a new president after a boycott of voting by the main Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parliamentary blocs. This follows the federal supreme court’s announcement of a temporary suspension of senior Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari’s presidential bid.

The coverage: At a Feb. 5 press conference, MP Hassan Al-Athari—head of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc—stated that the leader of his movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, had ordered...