The Associated Press reports: Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority Friday called on political blocs to agree on the next prime minister before the newly elected parliament sits next week, stepping up pressure on political leaders to set aside their differences and form an inclusive government in the face of Sunni militants who have seized large swaths of territory.

The Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also said that he wanted the political blocs to agree on the next parliament speaker and president by the time the new legislature meets Tuesday.

A sheikh representing Sistani, Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalaie, told worshippers in a Friday sermon at the holy city of Karbala that selecting the three before parliament meets would be a “prelude to the political solution that everyone seeks at the present.” [Continue reading…]