Country closes airspace and land border crossings as voters head out to elect a parliament many hope will deliver much-needed reforms after decades of conflict and mismanagement

Sunday's vote comes as powerful paramilitary groups threaten the authority of the state and hundreds of thousands are still displaced from years of war against IS

Political groups with deep ties to Islamic Republic have formed powerful blocs in parliament, as many worry Tehran's influence is becoming too strong

Speaker says he didn’t mean to call for peace with Israel, others say they were misled about conference’s content; pro-Iran militia says normalizers are 'legitimate targets'

In major oil-producing country with plentiful energy resources, the prospect of electricity 24 hours a day is a distant dream

Spokesman for US-led coalition against Islamic State says he had no knowledge of confab promoting normalization and has no affiliation with its participants

Editor David Horovitz discusses PM's trip to the UN and German elections, while Arab affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman looks at Iraq, PA and internal Arab violence

Baghdad says it will arrest all 300 participants at event in Kurdistan that called for peace, once it can establish who they are; Sahar al-Ta'i, Wisam al-Hardan were main speakers

Dr. Sahar Karim al-Ta'i, recently in running to become a minister, says she is ready to give it all for normalization: 'We can live under repression or we can die with courage'

PM praises gathering of hundreds of Sunni and Shiite notables, says 'recognition of the historical injustice done to the Jews of Iraq is especially important'