Based on an analysis of 434 X \/ Twitter posts trending on October 17, 2025, Miqrab AI identified significant public anger directed at Saudi Arabia, sparking calls for a boycott and defiant responses from Iraqi tribes. Domestic political narratives were also prominent, including controversy surrounding a diplomat’s alleged theft and tribal intervention, widespread discussion of the assassination of political activist Safaa Al-Mashhadani, and allegations of government censorship against Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani’s administration for suppressing critical content on social media. Other key topics included reactions to the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, criticism of political and religious figures, and updates on the modernization of Iraq’s civil defense capabilities.<\/p>\n
A wave of anti-Saudi sentiment has swept across Iraqi social media, led by posts showing Iraqi tribes responding defiantly to Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Al-Thawaq<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%)<\/strong> shared multiple videos of what he described as “brave Iraqi tribes” responding to the Kingdom, stating that most Iraqis are now united against Saudi Arabia. This sentiment was amplified by calls for a boycott of Saudi products, as seen in posts from Dr. Hussein Al-Safi<\/a> (Post Impact: 48%)<\/strong>, who urged “honorable people” to boycott Saudi goods in response to what he called “savage Bedouin Saudi fans.”<\/em> The hashtag #\u0642\u0627\u0637\u0639\u0648\u0627_\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0646\u062a\u062c\u0627\u062a_\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0639\u0648\u062f\u064a\u0629 (Boycott_Saudi_Products) was promoted by users like Wissam Aziz<\/a> (Post Impact: 15%)<\/strong>. Adding to the narrative, Abbas Al-Ardawi<\/a> (Post Impact: 4%)<\/strong> expressed that any insults against Iraq and its holy sites must be met with a response that preserves Iraqi dignity and reminds offenders that there is a price for transgressing against Iraq.<\/p>\n The killing of Safaa Al-Mashhadani has become a major topic of discussion, with many users mourning his death and demanding justice. Muna Sami<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong> questioned who killed him and noted the hypocrisy of social media accounts that previously labeled all politicians as corrupt but now praise Al-Mashhadani after his death. Promises of retribution were also shared, with Noor – Um Omar<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong> stating, “Soon, God willing.. we will avenge you and all the martyrs who fell to the bullets of the villainous militias!”<\/em> The government’s response was highlighted by Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong>, who quoted the Iraqi Prime Minister as saying, “We will bring the killers of Safaa Al-Mashhadani to justice.”<\/em> The story was also covered by Ali Farhan<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong>, who listed Al-Mashhadani among other assassinated figures like Hisham al-Hashimi.<\/p>\n Accusations have emerged that the Iraqi government is suppressing freedom of expression online. A press release from Wikileaks Iraq<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> claims that the government, under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, pressured Meta and TikTok to block accounts and posts that expose corruption. The statement alleges that the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC) demanded content be blocked despite it not violating platform policies, threatening to halt financial transfers through the Central Bank if the companies did not comply. This claim was echoed by other accounts, including Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong>, who identified the CMC as the entity pressuring social media companies. Salam Al-Husseini<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong> called the act a dangerous step towards building a “police state” and accused the Hikma Movement, which he claims runs the CMC, of using state institutions to suppress opposition voices.<\/p>\n A figure named Zainab has drawn significant backlash for perceived insults against Shia Islam and for siding with Saudi Arabia. Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%)<\/strong> accused her of pandering to a Saudi audience by attacking Shia beliefs, quoting her as saying, “The existing Shia doctrine is a Buyid-Seljuk doctrine.”<\/em> This followed previous actions where she allegedly provoked Iraqi sports fans by congratulating Saudi Arabia. Dr. Hussein Al-Safi<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%)<\/strong> also criticized her actions, questioning her motives for attacking the Ja’fari school of thought. The sentiment was shared by Abu Mzaiel<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong>, who characterized her as a “chameleon” desperately trying to gain favor with Gulf states after being cast out by her former backers.<\/p>\n A diplomatic controversy dubbed the “towel incident” has gained traction, involving advisor Zainab Al-Saadi. Accounts run by Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%)<\/strong> reported that the Sawa’id tribe issued a statement denouncing the “vicious and systematic smear campaign” against Dr. Zainab and hinted at a potential demonstration. This followed accusations that she stole towels from a hotel. Al-Qaradaghi also shared a video of Zainab Akla (Saadi) defending herself, in which she stated, “I swear to God the towels are mine and I lost some of my clothes inside the hotel.”<\/em> The story was also covered by Tamara Alkhazraji<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong>, who noted that in her first appearance after the accusations, Zainab Al-Saadi claimed her cars and belongings were stolen, and that the towels were hers.<\/p>\n Former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was the subject of both severe criticism and praise. Najah Mohammed Ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 4%)<\/strong> shared a narrative suggesting al-Kadhimi’s potential involvement in the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. The post recounts a tense conversation where Soleimani allegedly told al-Kadhimi, “Mustafa, as long as I am alive, you will not become Prime Minister of Iraq,”<\/em> implying a motive for complicity in the assassination that followed shortly after. In stark contrast, Wasan Al-Sheikhly<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong> praised al-Kadhimi’s premiership, stating that during his tenure, no Shia infighting occurred, he never blamed past governments for a “heavy legacy,” and he worked in a way that “no one can deny,” regardless of personal opinions about him.<\/p>\n The Russian Ambassador in Baghdad made several notable comments that were reported by Iraqi social media accounts. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 4%)<\/strong> highlighted the ambassador’s remark that “Iraqi students sometimes forget to attend lectures because of their friendships with Russian women, and we intervene to give them a chance to pass their exams and not be punished.”<\/em> Another account, Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong>, reported on the same topic and added the ambassador’s political statement that Russia refuses to hand over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to any party, claiming that even al-Julani was convinced that demanding his handover was not in their interest.<\/p>\n Ammar Al-Hakim, leader of the National State Forces Alliance, has been active politically, drawing both support and sharp criticism. His official account, Ammar Al-Hakim<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong>, promoted a “grand public carnival” for his coalition in Basra, describing the city as Iraq’s “smiling port and strategic reservoir.” However, he also faced criticism, with Wasan Al-Sheikhly<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> sharing a video with the caption, “Mr. Ammar Al-Hakim launches a surface-to-surface missile against the Sunnis,”<\/em> suggesting his rhetoric was divisive.<\/p>\n The release of Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been noted by prominent figures. Raghad Saddam Hussein<\/a> (Post Impact: 11%)<\/strong> issued a statement expressing her gratitude for his safety and hoping for his swift return to his homeland. She described his release as a “good and blessed opening for him and his honorable family, and the beginning of a new page that brings reunion and prosperity to Libya and its good people.”<\/em> Meanwhile, Ghaith Al-Tamimi<\/a> (Post Impact: 1%)<\/strong> questioned the circumstances of Gaddafi’s long detention in Lebanon, pointing out that Hannibal was only four years old when Imam Musa al-Sadr disappeared in 1978 and asked, “How does the Sadr family accept all this tyranny and injustice?”<\/em><\/p>\n The Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate is reportedly undergoing significant modernization with the acquisition of new specialized equipment. Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong> reported that the Ministry of Interior received a second batch of specialized and support vehicles for the Civil Defense, which are being prepared for potential deployment to neighboring countries in case of fires. In a separate post, Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong> also announced that, for the first time in its history, the Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate has received “rescue and firefighting” aircraft, marking a major upgrade to its operational capabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on an analysis of 434 X \/ Twitter posts trending on October 17, 2025, Miqrab AI identified significant public anger directed at Saudi Arabia, sparking calls for a boycott and defiant responses from Iraqi tribes. Domestic political narratives were also prominent, including controversy surrounding a diplomat’s alleged theft and tribal intervention, widespread discussion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7364,"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-7363","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\/7363","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=7363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7365,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7363\/revisions\/7365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. The Assassination of Political Activist Safaa Al-Mashhadani<\/h2>\n
3. Allegations of Government Censorship on Social Media<\/h2>\n
4. Controversy Surrounds Zainab for Alleged Anti-Shia Remarks<\/h2>\n
5. “Towel Incident” and Tribal Intervention for Diplomat Zainab Al-Saadi<\/h2>\n
6. Conflicting Views on Former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi<\/h2>\n
7. Russian Ambassador’s Remarks on Iraqi Students and Syrian Politics<\/h2>\n
8. Ammar Al-Hakim Holds Rally in Basra Amidst Criticism<\/h2>\n
9. Raghad Saddam Hussein Comments on Hannibal Gaddafi’s Release<\/h2>\n
10. Iraqi Civil Defense Receives New Firefighting and Rescue Equipment<\/h2>\n