EARLIER this year Iran ’s authorities arrested a score of men who, in separate incidents, claimed to be the Mahdi, a sacred figure of Shia Islam, who was “hidden” by God just over a ...

Iraq's new President Barham Saleh has named veteran Shia Islamist politician Adel Abdul Mahdi as prime minister-designate, ending months of deadlock. Mr Saleh, a Kurdish former deputy prime ...

After violence intensified at the end of November, Iraq's top Shia Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, urged parliament to reconsider its support for the government. Mr Abdul Mahdi ...

Abdul Mahdi submitted his letter of resignation to ... Protests erupted in the capital Baghdad and across Iraq's Shia-majority south in early October against endemic corruption, economic ...