Based on an analysis of 502 X \/ Twitter posts trending on December 21, 2025, Miqrab AI identified that the dominant narrative in Iraq revolves around the disarmament of armed factions. This topic, referred to as “confining weapons to the state,” has generated a wide spectrum of reactions, from conditional praise by major political figures to widespread public skepticism, mockery, and outright condemnation. Commentators frequently attribute the move to external pressure, particularly from the United States, rather than a genuine domestic initiative. Other significant conversations include ongoing political maneuvering to select a new Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, reports on Iraqi security forces conducting anti-terrorism operations, and criticism of the role of pro-faction media and personalities.<\/p>\n
In the day’s highest-impact post, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%<\/strong>) released a statement addressing the move by some armed factions to disarm. He described the decision as a “brave step”<\/em> that is in the interest of Iraq and praised those who initiated it. However, he attached several conditions, warning that the move should not be merely tactical, political, or a result of external pressure. Al-Sadr also criticized both those who mock the disarmament efforts and those who refuse to participate, emphasizing that the state’s weapon should be supreme and that “resistance” must be conducted through political and popular means, not uncontrolled arms.<\/p>\n The announcement by some factions to disarm was met with widespread skepticism and mockery. Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 12%<\/strong>) asserted that “all of Iraq is happy about disarming the gangs,”<\/em> arguing this proves that popular support for the factions is fabricated. Tamara Alkhazraji<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%<\/strong>) sarcastically noted that the “Coordination Framework” factions caved after a single tweet. Similarly, Ali Farhan<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%<\/strong>) attributed the move to US pressure rather than a genuine national decision, asking why they are disarming now after years of refusing calls from the public and the religious authority. Dr. Yahya Al-Kubaisi<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>) dismissed the entire effort as a “fable,”<\/em> stating that Iran is not prepared to lose Iraq and that Shia political actors see the militias as a guarantee for their power.<\/p>\n The discussion around disarmament prompted intense and vitriolic condemnation of armed militias from prominent commentators. Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 19%<\/strong>) posted an exceptionally aggressive message expressing a desire to gather all Iraqi militias and humiliate them. In another highly engaged post, Sufian Al-Samarrai<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%<\/strong>) shared a video of Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee, sarcastically suggesting he was inspecting the graves of “resistance” leaders. These posts reflect a deep-seated anger and delegitimization campaign against the factions, portraying them as illegitimate and harmful to the Iraqi state.<\/p>\n Several accounts reported that the official X\/Twitter account for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) posted and then quickly deleted a controversial statement. Steven Nabil<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%<\/strong>) shared a screenshot of the tweet, which thanked Iran and attacked the United States, questioning which faction within the PMF’s media apparatus would post such a thing at this sensitive time. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%<\/strong>) and Dr. Zaid Abdulwahab Al-Azami<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%<\/strong>) also highlighted the deletion, with Al-Qaradaghi calling it a part of “important and rapid developments,” suggesting it reflects internal division and pressure on the organization.<\/p>\n Amid the security discussions, political leaders were actively meeting to resolve the deadlock over key government positions. Ammar Al-Hakim<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>) posted about his meeting with PUK leader Bafel Talabani, where they stressed the need to adhere to constitutional timelines and speed up the selection of the presidencies. In a separate post, Al-Hakim<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>) reported a similar discussion with former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Meanwhile, Ezzat Alshabandar<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%<\/strong>) urged the Sunni political framework to select a Parliament Speaker and called on the Shia Coordination Framework to end their “dispute” and agree on a Prime Minister.<\/p>\n Multiple posts highlighted a successful security operation by Iraqi forces in Syria. The account Hayder<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>) reported that Iraqi forces stated they have moved from “crisis management to proactive work” and will “paralyze terrorism in its dens.” Another post from the same account specified that the airdrop operation led to the capture of a “liaison”<\/em> who was transferring weapons and terrorists from Syrian camps into Iraq. This narrative was reinforced by the official account of the Counter-Terrorism Service<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>), which posted an image of its forces with a message of readiness, projecting an image of a strengthening and capable Iraqi state security apparatus.<\/p>\n A TV host from the Al Anwar 2 channel, identified as a former candidate for the Sadiqoun Bloc, became a target of criticism. Steven Nabil<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%<\/strong>) shared her image, arguing that “Iraq is being destroyed socially and morally”<\/em> while in the hands of the “resistance.” Bahaa khaleel<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%<\/strong>) echoed this sentiment, describing her as a product of “Tehran’s religious authority” and questioning the morals of those who claim to follow Zainab. The posts used the presenter as an example to criticize the character and social impact of political groups associated with armed factions.<\/p>\n In response to the calls for disarmament, some accounts defended the role of factional weapons. Emad Al-Musafir<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%<\/strong>) argued that “when the state was unable to protect itself, the resistance’s weapons rose to protect it,”<\/em> framing them as a last line of defense for sovereignty. Similarly, Ahmad Abdul Sada<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%<\/strong>) expressed a lack of trust in the state to expel US or Turkish forces, recalling the critical role of factions in fighting ISIS in 2014. He argued that the state is run by politicians who serve their own interests and that there is no guarantee a future government wouldn’t be worse, thus making the retention of arms necessary.<\/p>\n The narrative of American pressure as the primary driver behind the disarmament talks was a recurring theme. Ali Farhan<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%<\/strong>) cited the Associated Press, which reported that “Washington warned Baghdad against choosing any candidate from the factions or close to them for prime minister, minister, or any important security position.”<\/em> This was complemented by a post from Nazar Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%<\/strong>), who claimed that three factional leaders have requested protection from Turkey ahead of potential US strikes, pledging to dismantle their armed groups in return. These posts together suggest that recent events are a direct result of a US ultimatum.<\/p>\n Politician Mithal Al-Alusi<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%<\/strong>) sparked controversy by proposing a personal peace mission to Israel. He asked his followers for their opinion on him traveling to Israel with a “Iraqi peace message”<\/em> to the Knesset and Iraqi Jews there, in order to “spare Iraq the dangers and mazes of military escalation in the Middle East.” The proposal was met with a strong reaction, and in a subsequent post, Al-Alusi<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%<\/strong>) announced he was withdrawing the tweet and its idea, thanking everyone who commented regardless of their position and stating, “Iraq is worth it.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on an analysis of 502 X \/ Twitter posts trending on December 21, 2025, Miqrab AI identified that the dominant narrative in Iraq revolves around the disarmament of armed factions. This topic, referred to as “confining weapons to the state,” has generated a wide spectrum of reactions, from conditional praise by major political figures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7835,"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-7834","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\/7834","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=7834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7836,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions\/7836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Widespread Skepticism Over Faction Disarmament<\/h2>\n
3. Harsh Online Denunciations of Iraqi Militias<\/h2>\n
4. PMF Deletes Tweet Thanking Iran and Attacking US<\/h2>\n
5. Political Leaders Meet to Decide on Top Government Posts<\/h2>\n
6. Iraqi Forces Conduct Cross-Border Anti-Terror Operation<\/h2>\n
7. “Resistance” Media Figure Criticized Online<\/h2>\n
8. Accounts Defend “Resistance” Arms as Necessary for Sovereignty<\/h2>\n
9. Reports Highlight US Pressure on Factions and Government<\/h2>\n
10. Politician Proposes, Then Retracts, Peace Mission to Israel<\/h2>\n