Based on Miqrab AI’s analysis of 359 X\/Twitter posts trending in Iraq on August 21, 2026, the primary narrative centered on the diplomatic spat between Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over the naming of the “Arabian Gulf” versus the “Persian Gulf.” This incident fueled a broader conversation about Iranian influence in Iraq. Another major theme was the Iraqi government’s position on disarming militias, with posts highlighting Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi’s reassuring statements that there would be no military confrontation with the factions, sparking debate among commentators. Discussions also touched upon regional conflicts, including a high-engagement post about Yemeni forces attacking Saudi targets, the anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack in Syria, and commentary on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
A significant point of discussion was the dispute between Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi and Iranian Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over the term “Persian Gulf.” Samer Jawad<\/a> (Post Impact: 69%)<\/strong> and Haider<\/a> (Post Impact: 30%)<\/strong> shared clips of al-Halbousi explaining how he repeatedly corrected Ghalibaf during meetings, insisting on the name “Arabian Gulf” or “Basra Gulf” and noting the issue escalated to diplomatic channels. Ali Farhan ali farhan<\/a> (Post Impact: 24%)<\/strong> quoted al-Halbousi stating his position reflects that of the Iraqi state. Dr. Qusay Shafiq<\/a> (Post Impact: 24%)<\/strong> interpreted Ghalibaf’s subsequent post of a map with “Persian Gulf” as a message of Iranian dominance, which al-Halbousi’s response countered. Separately, Yasser Eljuboori – \u064a\u0627\u0633\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0628\u0648\u0631\u064a<\/a> (Post Impact: 37%)<\/strong> criticized a tweet from the official Iranian Embassy account as an insult to the Iraqi Parliament Speaker, stating, “It’s a shame to remain silent about such an insult.”<\/em><\/p>\n Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi’s stance on armed factions was a major topic, with many accounts interpreting his statements as a step back from confrontation. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 18%)<\/strong> quoted the Prime Minister as saying, “There are no intentions or possibilities for any military clash,”<\/em> suggesting these were reassurances to faction leaders. Haider<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%)<\/strong> shared Zaydi’s toned-down remarks where he praised the factions for fighting “on the front lines in the cold and heat” and reassured the public of no military conflict. This was echoed by Najeh Abbas Al-Mizan<\/a> (Post Impact: 32%)<\/strong>, who sarcastically noted that Zaydi’s defense of the militias was stronger than that of some militia leaders themselves. In contrast, Abu Maryam<\/a> (Post Impact: 10%)<\/strong> highlighted Zaydi’s claim that “most factions are convinced to hand over their weapons” and that indirect dialogue channels are open with those who refuse.<\/p>\n The visit of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Iraq generated significant discussion about Iran’s role in the country. Ezzat Alshabandar | Ezzat Alshabandar<\/a> (Post Impact: 71%)<\/strong> commented on Ghalibaf’s tweet featuring the Gulf, stating it was unlikely intended to provoke, as Iran’s leaders do not concern themselves with “illiterates who cannot distinguish the letters of their language.” Hiba Alnnayib<\/a> (Post Impact: 33%)<\/strong> shared a video allegedly showing Ghalibaf’s security detail walking over the graves of PMF “martyrs,” questioning Iran’s respect for Iraqis who died for its cause and imagining the outcry if an Iraqi or Kurdish official had done the same. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 17%)<\/strong> questioned the sincerity of Ghalibaf’s push for economic cooperation while Iran simultaneously blocks Iraqi oil from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Politician and writer Faig Al-Sheakh Ali announced that he is writing a three-part book titled “Sectarian Rule in Iraq.” In one post, Faig Al-Sheakh Ali\/My Word for History<\/a> (Post Impact: 66%)<\/strong> revealed that he has finished the first part, which focuses on the Islamic Dawa Party. He is currently writing the second and third parts simultaneously, covering the history of the Iraqi state and the political thought of Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, respectively. In a follow-up post, Faig Al-Sheakh Ali\/My Word for History<\/a> (Post Impact: 64%)<\/strong> praised his own work, describing the upcoming book as “a shock, terrifying, [it] will demolish all constants and all axioms,”<\/em> claiming it is a very deep book that cannot be refuted.<\/p>\n A video shared by the account Haider<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%)<\/strong>, which received the highest engagement among the analyzed posts, claims to show the Yemeni Armed Forces targeting gatherings and vehicles belonging to Saudi forces and their mercenaries. The post specifies that the attacks took place in Ma’rib and on the West Coast of Yemen. The video footage purports to be from these military operations, illustrating an ongoing regional conflict that garners significant attention among Iraqi social media users.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the subject of discussion following a video and reports of a Turkish arrest warrant. Sufian Al-Samarrai<\/a> (Post Impact: 53%)<\/strong> shared a video of Netanyahu grilling kebabs, ominously connecting it to assassinations of Iranian and Hezbollah figures and speculating that Iranian speaker Ghalibaf “will be turned into kofta.” Meanwhile, Omar Abdul Sattar Mahmoud<\/a> (Post Impact: 18%)<\/strong> posted twice about reports that Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu, sharing a video clip<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> from a news report on the subject.<\/p>\n Iran’s economic situation under sanctions was another key topic. Rusly Al-Maliki \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6 \u0631\u0633\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0643\u064a<\/a> (Post Impact: 51%)<\/strong> reported that “Iran’s losses from the naval blockade amount to $46 billion annually.” In contrast, Najah Mohammed Ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 25%)<\/strong> argued that Iran’s policy has shifted from merely circumventing sanctions to actively responding with its own measures, stating, “Tehran is responding to the siege with a siege, and to sanctions with sanctions.”<\/em> He also quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who listed past failed sanctions policies and concluded that the current “most crushing economic operations ever” are also doomed to fail<\/a> (Post Impact: 14%)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A public altercation between Iraqi Minister of Communications Mustafa Sanad and journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi drew attention on social media. Haider<\/a> (Post Impact: 37%)<\/strong> reported on the exchange, quoting Minister Sanad as telling al-Zaidi, “Eat shit, Muntadhar.”<\/em> Al-Zaidi reportedly replied, “You are not worthy of respect… I won’t say I will hit you with my shoe… because it is expensive and I used it on someone bigger than you and your masters.”<\/em> Amer Ibrahim \u0639\u0627\u0645\u0631 \u0625\u0628\u0631\u0627\u0647\u064a\u0645<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%)<\/strong> also posted about the incident, sharing a picture of Sanad with the sarcastic caption, “His Excellency the Minister.”<\/p>\n Several users marked the anniversary of the August 21, 2013, chemical attack in Ghouta, Syria. Othman Al-Mukhtar<\/a> (Post Impact: 34%)<\/strong> posted a memorial for the more than 1,440 victims of the massacre carried out by the Assad regime, assigning blame to “the mullahs of Tehran and their supporters in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.” Former Iraqi President Barham Salih<\/a> (Post Impact: 10%)<\/strong> also commented on the atrocities in Syria, sharing a video from the “notorious Saydnaya prison” and stating that “Syria\u2019s future must ensure such horrors never happen again.”<\/em><\/p>\n The release of Abbas al-Yaqubi, a leader in the Harakat al-Nujaba militia, prompted commentary on the relationship between the state and armed factions. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 58%)<\/strong> shared a video clip of al-Yaqubi describing his investigation, where he claimed the judge told him, “What can I say to you? I am ashamed to even speak with you. Go, you are acquitted.”<\/em> Al-Qaradaghi described the clip as resembling “daydreams.” Similarly, Mustafa Al-Dulaimi<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> questioned the status of the al-Nujaba faction, asking whether it operates under the command of the Prime Minister as part of the PMF or if it is an armed group outside state control, comparing the confusion to the “chicken or the egg” paradox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on Miqrab AI’s analysis of 359 X\/Twitter posts trending in Iraq on August 21, 2026, the primary narrative centered on the diplomatic spat between Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over the naming of the “Arabian Gulf” versus the “Persian Gulf.” This incident fueled a broader conversation about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,73,78],"tags":[82,52,81,83],"class_list":["post-11276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-twitter-x","category-iraq","category-daily","tag-daily-reports","tag-iraq-daily-social-media-trends","tag-iraq-public-opinion","tag-trending-x-twitter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11278,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11276\/revisions\/11278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. PM Zaydi Vows No Military Clash with Factions<\/h2>\n
3. Ghalibaf’s Visit Sparks Debate on Iranian Influence<\/h2>\n
4. Faig Al-Sheakh Ali Announces Book on Sectarian Rule<\/h2>\n
5. Yemeni Forces Claim Attacks in Marib and West Coast<\/h2>\n
6. Netanyahu’s “Kebab” Video and Turkish Warrant Stir Reactions<\/h2>\n
7. Iran’s Economic Woes and Sanctions Defiance<\/h2>\n
8. Minister Sanad and Muntadhar al-Zaidi in Heated Exchange<\/h2>\n
9. Users Commemorate Anniversary of Ghouta Chemical Attack<\/h2>\n
10. Al-Nujaba Leader’s Release Sparks Discussion<\/h2>\n