Based on an analysis of 646 X \/ Twitter posts conducted by Miqrab AI on December 22, 2024, the primary discussions in Iraq focused on sharp political criticism against corruption, intense debates surrounding regional geopolitics, and controversy over alleged threats made by a prominent militia figure. Key narratives included commentary on the new leadership in Syria, strong pro-Iran and pro-Houthi sentiment from some accounts, condemnation of Iran’s regional influence from others, and somber reflections on the discovery of mass graves from the Ba’athist era. These conversations highlight a landscape marked by internal political friction, deep engagement with regional transformations, and the lingering impact of historical trauma.<\/p>\n
Politician Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali\/My Word to History<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%)<\/strong> dominated the conversation with posts targeting corruption and commenting on regional instability. In a highly engaged post, he satirically told those who stole billions from Iraq that their only option is to go “sit on top of this mountain.” In another post<\/a> (Post Impact: 51%)<\/strong>, he warned that after the potential destruction of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and changes in Syria, Iraq might be next. He questioned the narrative that Iraq feels no threat from these developments, rhetorically asking what will happen “after the elimination of the Iraqi militias.” His posts convey a sense of imminent danger and deep-seated frustration with the political class.<\/p>\n A video clip featuring Abu Azrael, a prominent figure in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), sparked outrage and concern. Omar Al-Janabi<\/a> (Post Impact: 40%)<\/strong> shared the clip, stating it was “very dangerous” and claiming Abu Azrael admitted to “dealing with hired killers in the Kurdistan region… to liquidate journalists and bloggers,” specifically mentioning a plot against journalist Qahtan Adnan for $4,000. This prompted a call for authorities in Erbil to take action. In a direct response, Mahdi Majeed<\/a> (Post Impact: 45%)<\/strong> taunted Abu Azrael, claiming his intelligence comes from high-ranking PMF informants, not surveillance, and even detailed what he claimed was the group’s lunch menu for the day as proof. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%)<\/strong> commented that Abu Azrael’s role shifted from “fighting Israel to forming terrorist gangs to kill journalists.”<\/p>\n A strong narrative supporting Iran and Yemen’s Houthis was promoted by several accounts. Hassan Al-Kaabi | Hassan Alkaaebi<\/a> (Post Impact: 71%)<\/strong> posted a widely circulated comparison, praising Iran for manufacturing cars, weapons, and enriching uranium while claiming “the Arab does nothing.” He further asserted that Iran is sovereign while Arab states are “full of foreign bases” and that Iran “carries the concerns of Islamic issues” while Arabs “sell” them. In another post<\/a> (Post Impact: 43%)<\/strong>, Al-Kaabi declared Houthi leader Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi a leader for all Arabs and Muslims. This sentiment was echoed by Abu Azrael – Abu Azrael<\/a> (Post Impact: 34%)<\/strong>, who shared a video with the hashtag #Yemen_our_brothers_in_faith<\/em>.<\/p>\n The recent political changes in Syria and the public appearances of its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as al-Jolani), were a major topic of discussion. Sufian Al-Samarrai<\/a> (Post Impact: 37%)<\/strong> shared a video of al-Sharaa with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, describing al-Sharaa as walking behind Fidan “like a docile student.” Abbas Shams Addin<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%)<\/strong> also commented on the body language in the meeting. Al-Sharaa’s meeting with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt also garnered significant attention, with Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%)<\/strong> sharing a clip of al-Sharaa dismissing historical conflicts. The change in his appearance, including wearing a suit and tie, was noted by accounts like Hisham Ali :: husham ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong> as a significant rebranding effort.<\/p>\n A statement by Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa dismissing historical religious conflicts ignited a debate on sectarianism. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 22%)<\/strong> shared a clip of al-Sharaa saying, “Events that happened 1400 years ago, what do we have to do with them!?”<\/em>. In contrast, Sufian Al-Samarrai<\/a> (Post Impact: 39%)<\/strong> labeled him a “hypocrite,”<\/em> accusing him of forgetting his own role in sectarian violence alongside al-Zarqawi under orders from Iran and Bashar al-Assad. Mazen Al-Zaidi<\/a> (Post Impact: 6%)<\/strong> also questioned al-Sharaa’s apparent change of heart, reminding readers that he previously relied on historical religious edicts to justify killing Shias, Alawites, and Sufis.<\/p>\n The discovery of a mass grave in the Samawah desert, attributed to the regime of Saddam Hussein, was widely reported. Abbas Shams Addin<\/a> (Post Impact: 29%)<\/strong> shared powerful images described as “what remains of a mother and her child.”<\/em> Hussein Abu Alimeh _ iraq<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> and Haydar<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%)<\/strong> also shared videos and photos from the site, stating the grave contained the remains of dozens of victims, including women and children identifiable by their traditional Kurdish clothing. These posts were used to counter narratives romanticizing the previous regime, with one user rhetorically asking supporters of the old regime, “so this is the safety you talk about?”<\/p>\n A discussion was initiated by Ghaith Al-Tamimi GHAITH ALTAMIMI<\/a> (Post Impact: 33%)<\/strong> accusing several Iraqi political figures of having connections to Syrian Ba’athist intelligence. He explicitly named Mashaan al-Jubouri, Izzat al-Shabandar, and Qasim Muslih as having worked with the Syrian intelligence services under Bashar al-Assad. Al-Tamimi called for an investigation into their influence on Iraqi politics and asked his followers to name other “liaison officers.” Coincidentally, Izzat Alshabandar<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong>, one of the accused, posted about Iraq’s readiness to support the new government in Syria and warned against falling into the “trap of sectarian apportionment.”<\/p>\n A recent speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prompted critical reactions from Iraqi commentators, who felt he disavowed his regional allies. Liqaa Maki<\/a> (Post Impact: 18%)<\/strong> argued that Khamenei’s remarks signal an intent to “clash with the peoples of the region” and represent an “insistence on the same sin” of supporting despotic regimes. Steven Nabil<\/a> (Post Impact: 15%)<\/strong> highlighted the perceived betrayal, noting how painful it must be for Iraqi militias who sacrificed so much for Iran, only for Khamenei not to mention them. Aayad Al-Twfan – Aayad Al Twfan<\/a> (Post Impact: 11%)<\/strong> listed previous instances where Khamenei denied direct control over Hezbollah and the Syrian army, suggesting his recent statement that the Houthis and Iraqi factions are not his followers is a familiar pattern of denial.<\/p>\n The Iraqi militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada announced it was halting its military operations against Israel, a move that was met with ridicule. Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 17%)<\/strong> sarcastically asked, “What about the volunteers whose numbers reached the thousands for the great battle?”<\/em> Rusly Al-Maliki \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6 \u0631\u0633\u0644\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0643\u064a<\/a> (Post Impact: 15%)<\/strong> echoed this sentiment, noting the absence of the militia’s leader, Abu Alaa al-Walai’i, and the “fifty thousand volunteers,” and concluded that the decision would ultimately not benefit the group. The posts frame the announcement as an admission of failure or a retreat from previous grandiose threats.<\/p>\n The account Mahdi Majeed<\/a> (Post Impact: 33%)<\/strong> promoted a vision for a new Iraqi government, launching a poll on whether his followers would nominate Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali as Prime Minister in a “new Iraq after the demise of Iran and its militias.” In another post<\/a> (Post Impact: 23%)<\/strong>, he argued that the “only way to rid Iraq of Iran and its militias quickly” is for a new Iraqi opposition to negotiate with the US. He proposed that guaranteeing American interests would convince the US to eliminate the militias, similar to what happened in Syria. He suggested Iraq could adopt a model similar to Qatar, hosting a US military base to ensure its security and stability while benefiting from its own resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on an analysis of 646 X \/ Twitter posts conducted by Miqrab AI on December 22, 2024, the primary discussions in Iraq focused on sharp political criticism against corruption, intense debates surrounding regional geopolitics, and controversy over alleged threats made by a prominent militia figure. Key narratives included commentary on the new leadership in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9733,"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-9732","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\/9732","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=9732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9734,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9732\/revisions\/9734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. PMF Leader Abu Azrael Accused of Threatening Journalists<\/h2>\n
3. Pro-Iran and Pro-Houthi Sentiment Expressed<\/h2>\n
4. The New Syrian Leadership and Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Meetings<\/h2>\n
5. Debates on Sectarianism and Historical Grievances<\/h2>\n
6. Discovery of Mass Graves from Saddam Hussein’s Era<\/h2>\n
7. Allegations of Syrian Intelligence Links Among Iraqi Figures<\/h2>\n
8. Criticism of Iranian Leader Khamenei’s Speech on Regional Allies<\/h2>\n
9. Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Announces Halt to Israel Operations<\/h2>\n
10. Calls for New Iraqi Leadership and US Cooperation<\/h2>\n