The story: Iraq’s finance minister is caught in a worsening confrontation with the Sadrist Movement. The clash erupted after Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada Al-Sadr took to Twitter on Feb. 17 to demand that top finance officials be summoned by the parliament over currency-related issues. Importantly, Sadr’s call for a halt to the smuggling of hard currency may also be targeted at Iran.

The coverage: In a Feb. 17 tweet, Sadr lamented the smuggling of foreign exchange out of the country and the 2020 devaluation of the Iraqi dinar, among other issues. He also called on lawmakers to question the head of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and Finance Minister Ali Allawi...