Based on an analysis of 735 X / Twitter posts trending on May 13, 2025, Miqrab AI found that the dominant conversation among Iraqi users revolved around former US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia. This event generated multiple narratives, including widespread admiration for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership and the kingdom’s progress, which was frequently contrasted with Iraq’s political stagnation and subordination to Iranian influence. A major development from the visit, Trump’s announcement of lifting sanctions on Syria at the request of Saudi Arabia, was widely discussed, further fueling the perception that the concurrent Arab League summit in Baghdad was irrelevant and had been completely overshadowed. While many users expressed frustration and shame over Iraq’s situation, a counter-narrative criticized the Saudi-US dealings as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and a waste of wealth. Other notable domestic issues included ongoing protests by unemployed engineers demanding government jobs.

Today’s Top 10 X (Twitter) Trends in Iraq:

1. Trump’s “Legendary” Saudi Visit Dominates Discussion

Posts from Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali/My Word for History (Post Impact: 100%) and Dr. Hussein Al-Moayed (Post Impact: 13%) describe Trump’s visit to Riyadh as a momentous occasion. They highlight Trump’s repeated praise for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling him “great” several times. Accounts like ZaidBenjamin (Post Impact: 24%) share clips of Trump touring new Saudi projects, including the stadium for the 2034 World Cup. The visit is portrayed as a sign of Saudi Arabia’s rising global influence and a strategic success for MBS, with Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali stating that after this, Iraqi militia leaders have no choice but to “commit suicide on the nearest garbage dump.” The image of Trump and MBS together was shared by accounts like Qais Al-Khazali (Post Impact: 57%).

2. Trump Lifts Syria Sanctions at Saudi Request

A major outcome of the Riyadh visit was Donald Trump’s announcement that he would lift sanctions on Syria. ZaidBenjamin (Post Impact: 36%) reports that Trump made the decision after speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Erdoğan, quoting Trump as saying, “Oh, what I do for the Crown Prince.” The news was met with applause in Riyadh, as shown in videos shared by Rusly Al-Maliki (Post Impact: 14%) and Omar Abd Al-Sattar Mahmoud (Post Impact: 13%). This move is seen as a significant diplomatic victory for Saudi Arabia and a sign of shifting regional dynamics, with Liqaa Maki (Post Impact: 9%) stating it marks a practical step towards Arab solidarity to rebuild the region, starting with Syria.

3. Baghdad Summit Overshadowed and Mocked

In light of Trump’s high-profile visit to Riyadh, the Arab League summit being held in Baghdad is widely seen as a failure before it even began. Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali/My Word for History (Post Impact: 44%) calls for the summit’s postponement or cancellation, arguing that no Arab leaders will attend and any decisions will be worthless. Dr. Qusay Shafiq (Post Impact: 14%) states that the “Riyadh summit flips the table on the Baghdad summit” and questions whether holding the US-Gulf summit a day before the Baghdad one was a coincidence or a deliberate move against Iraq. Accounts like Ameer aldaami (Post Impact: 5%) and Zainab Rabee (Post Impact: 9%) echo this sentiment, with the latter sarcastically wondering if the Baghdad summit will now discuss “the benefits and harms of wheat.”

4. Users Contrast Saudi Progress with Iraqi Failure

A dominant theme is the stark comparison between Saudi Arabia’s development and Iraq’s decline under pro-Iranian factions. Sheikh Thair Al-Bayati (Post Impact: 17%) contrasts the two in a poem-like post, stating, “Saudi Arabia builds cities that resemble paradise, and Iraq builds a generator in the presence of so-and-so.” Rusly Al-Maliki (Post Impact: 12%) quotes Trump saying the “wonders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not made by the so-called nation-builders who spent trillions on their failures in Kabul and Baghdad,” telling Iraqi leaders to bury their heads in shame. This sentiment is shared by Firas W. Alsarray – Firas Al-Sarai (Post Impact: 12%), who laments, “Men who work for their people, while we have tails that work for Iran.”

5. High-Profile US Business Delegation in Riyadh

The composition of Donald Trump’s delegation to Saudi Arabia drew significant attention, seen as a sign of the visit’s economic and strategic importance. Rusly Al-Maliki (Post Impact: 48%) and Dr. Qusay Shafiq (Post Impact: 23%) both list the attendees, which include top US officials and a remarkable list of CEOs such as Elon Musk (Tesla, X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Larry Fink (BlackRock), Sam Altman (ChatGPT), and the heads of Boeing, Citigroup, Google, and Amazon. Al-Maliki contrasts this powerful delegation with Iraq’s alignment with the “axis of resistance,” while Shafiq tells his followers to “cry mud for Iraq and its summit.”

6. Critical View on Trump’s Lavish Reception

A counter-narrative emerged criticizing the grand reception for Donald Trump and the massive financial commitments made by Saudi Arabia. Issam Hussein (Post Impact: 45%) questions the “legendary reception” in a country where, he claims, 13% of the population suffers from extreme poverty. He argues that the trillions of dollars intended for Trump are to protect the Al Saud throne, not for the welfare of Saudi citizens, and shares photos allegedly showing poverty and slums in the Kingdom. Similarly, Mahdi Majeed (Post Impact: 15%) asserts that Trump’s visit is purely for financial gain, suggesting America only visits Arab nations “to reap money, not out of love for Arabs and their rulers.” Hussein also argues the visit signals the end of the Palestinian cause in favor of Israel.

7. Widespread Praise for MBS’s Leadership

Beyond direct comparisons with Iraq, many posts expressed profound admiration for Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Dr. Hussein Al-Moayed (Post Impact: 13%) wrote a lengthy tribute, calling MBS a “great prince” and “pride of strong leadership,” praising his vision and sincere efforts to elevate his country and the wider Arab and Islamic nation. Likewise, Aayad Al Twfan (Post Impact: 10%) expresses pride in Saudi Arabia, describing it as the “kingdom of glory, pride, and generosity” and a global power under the leadership of King Salman and MBS. Dr. Ihsan Al-Shammari (Post Impact: 13%) adds that Saudi Arabia is “writing a new history of successful diplomacy” and establishing itself as an effective regional and international pole.

8. Syrian President to Meet Trump in Riyadh

The news that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa would be meeting Donald Trump in Riyadh was highlighted as another significant geopolitical shift that further undermined the Baghdad summit. Mashan al-Jubouri (Post Impact: 5%) states that while pro-Iran factions in Iraq celebrate Al-Sharaa’s absence from Baghdad, he is actually on his way to meet the “leader of the free world” in Saudi Arabia. Omar Al-Janabi (Post Impact: 9%) mocks Iraqi militias who opposed the Syrian president’s attendance in Baghdad, pointing out that Saudi Arabia is demonstrating how statecraft is properly conducted. Rusly Al-Maliki (Post Impact: 11%) also confirms that “Al-Sharaa arrived in Riyadh to meet Trump and bin Salman.”

9. Iraqi Engineers Protest for Employment

Amid the focus on international diplomacy, a domestic issue trended on Iraqi X / Twitter: the plight of unemployed engineers. Firas W. Alsarray – Firas Al-Sarai (Post Impact: 12%) and another of his posts (Post Impact: 11%) highlighted the engineers’ protests, using the hashtags #تعيين_المهندس (Appoint the Engineer) and #اعتصام_فجر_العراق_السلمي (Peaceful Dawn of Iraq Sit-in). The posts convey the engineers’ frustration, asking, “Why does this injustice against us continue?” and pleading with the Iraqi government to end their marginalization and provide them with the jobs they deserve, noting their crucial role as the nation’s “builders of the future.”

10. Trump’s Visit Signals a New Anti-Iran Axis

Several commentators interpret Trump’s visit as the formation of a new regional order aimed at containing Iran. David Yassin (Post Impact: 9%) describes the visit not as symbolic or economic but as an “operations room to establish a new tripartite axis: Saudi nuclear power, American cyber superiority, and Israeli cover.” He suggests this marks the beginning of an “re-containment of a new Middle East.” Rusly Al-Maliki (Post Impact: 12%) similarly predicts, “The change is coming to the region with terrible speed, nothing will be left for Iran.” This sentiment is echoed by Hussam Alhaj (Post Impact: 6%), who states Trump is in Saudi Arabia to lay out the features of a new Middle East that “does not tolerate weapons outside the state’s control.”