TEHRAN (AP) — Raising the stakes before a possible showdown at the UN nuclear agency, Iran’s parliament on Sunday approved a bill requiring the government to block in-depth inspections of its nuclear facilities if the nation is referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions. Of 197 lawmakers present, 183 …

BAGHDAD — Safia Taleb Souhail has ambitions to be Iraq’s first woman president one day. A month before a poll in which she hopes to win a parliamentary seat, the former exile is upbeat about women’s rights and democracy.

RAMALLAH — The resignation of much-admired Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad will deliver a major blow to efforts to attract investment and highlight the limitations of a reform drive, analysts said Sunday. Fayyad has submitted his resignation, it emerged over the weekend, in a move that sources said was the …