Based on an analysis of 535 X \/ Twitter posts trending on February 18, 2025, by Miqrab AI, the primary narratives in Iraq revolve around severe economic anxiety and significant political maneuvering. Widespread discussions focus on an impending financial crisis, with users citing admissions from the Minister of Finance about a deficit in funding public salaries, sparking fears of economic collapse and predictions of popular unrest. This is compounded by warnings of new, expansive US sanctions targeting the Iraqi banking system. On the political front, a statement by Muqtada al-Sadr targeting a deviant religious group and calling on Iran to extradite its leaders garnered the highest engagement. Other major topics include significant diplomatic shifts, particularly US-Russia negotiations hosted by Saudi Arabia, and ongoing domestic tensions, including intra-Shia power struggles, criticism of political figures like Nouri al-Maliki, and security flare-ups in Kirkuk.<\/p>\n
The most impactful story was a statement from influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%)<\/strong> regarding the group known as “Ahl al-Qadiyah” or “Al-Qurban” (The Sacrifice). In a handwritten letter posted online, al-Sadr declared the group’s followers to be “infidels and apostates” and demanded that Iran hand over their leaders, who he claims are based there, to be tried in Iraq. Commentator Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong> interpreted this demand as an admission that Iran is the source of the group and its “deviant ideas.” Al-Maliki stated, “Bravo Iran, it has always been a mine of deviant ideas and false polytheistic behaviors!”<\/em><\/p>\n A dominant theme was the growing concern over Iraq’s economic stability, fueled by official statements about a financial deficit. Multiple accounts, including Hisham Ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> and Adnan Al-Taie<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong>, reported that Minister of Finance Taif Sami admitted the state treasury faces a significant shortfall in funding salaries, pensions, and social welfare. This led commentators like Mashanal Jabouri<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%)<\/strong> to warn of a potential “collapse of the dinar” and a “crazy jump in the dollar,” arguing that the Prime Minister is avoiding unpopular decisions like raising the exchange rate for electoral reasons. Adnan Al-Taie<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> harshly criticized the government, labeling Iraq a “failed state”<\/em> whose only function has become creating public sector jobs. Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> blamed the “failed economic policy” of Prime Minister Al-Sudani for the crisis, predicting that the consequences will become apparent starting next month.<\/p>\n Users engaged in analysis of major regional conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Syria. Liqaa Maki<\/a> (Post Impact: 21%)<\/strong> discussed Donald Trump’s reported ultimatum to Ukraine, which he framed as a lesson on the “risks of placing your national security’s future in the hands of others.”<\/em> He argued that Ukraine is faced with two bitter choices and that Europe alone cannot support it against Russia. Separately, Othman Al-Mukhtar<\/a> (Post Impact: 16%)<\/strong> shared a 2016 video of Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun praising the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), labeling Hassoun a “transnational serial killer”<\/em> and calling for his prosecution out of respect for the victims of what he termed “sectarian massacres” in both Iraq and Aleppo.<\/p>\n Fears of new and expanded US sanctions were a significant topic of discussion. Mashanal Jabouri<\/a> (Post Impact: 16%)<\/strong> issued a direct warning to the “Shiite governance” to pay attention to remarks by US Congressman Joe Wilson and Iraqi politician Faig Al-Sheikh Ali. Jabouri predicted that “US sanctions on the Iraqi banking system will expand,”<\/em> a “ban on dollar flow is coming,”<\/em> and the targeting of Iran-aligned factions is imminent. He claimed these outcomes are not just threats but seem “inevitable in the coming months.”<\/em> Echoing this sentiment, Mulla Abood Al-Karkhi<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong> questioned why Shiite authorities insist on making Iraq a “scapegoat for Iran” when its economy is facing collapse, suggesting that Trump intends to “cut Iran’s aortic artery, which is Iraq.”<\/p>\n Several accounts reported on high-level negotiations between the United States and Russia taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, prompting analysis of the potential regional consequences. Omar Abd Al Sattar Mahmoud<\/a> (Post Impact: 12%)<\/strong> posted a video questioning the motives behind Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in these talks. Rafid Jaboori<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%)<\/strong> stated that the war in Ukraine is “practically over” and that Iraq and Syria are “facing changes” as a result of the agreement, noting that Saudi Arabia is celebrating with hashtags like #Saudi_Arabia_the_capital_of_global_decision. Similarly, Steven Nabil<\/a> (Post Impact: 4%)<\/strong> announced the start of the “historic negotiations” in Riyadh.<\/p>\n Amid the economic concerns, there was a strong narrative of government failure and predictions of a new popular uprising. Adnan Al-Taie<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> declared the Iraqi government a failure after twenty years of excuses, stating, “You are failures.”<\/em> Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 10%)<\/strong> directly addressed government employees who feared losing their salaries and did not participate in the Tishreen (October) protests, warning them, “Soon you will lose this salary due to the financial deficit… and no one will stand with you.”<\/em> In a more direct prediction, Omar Abd Al Sattar Mahmoud<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%)<\/strong> stated that “Iraq is heading towards economic collapse and a massive Iraqi revolution is coming soon.”<\/p>\n Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was the subject of pointed criticism and ridicule. Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 8%)<\/strong> posted a video of the former PM and suggested he see a psychiatrist, stating, “Out of concern for a political figure like yourself, see a psychiatrist.”<\/em> Other users commented on al-Maliki’s recent statements about the Ba’ath Party. Salem Al-Jomaili<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong> sarcastically referred to al-Maliki’s conclusion that the “Ba’ath will not return” as an “important lecture in methodological and philosophical thought.” In response, Shaho Al-Qaradaghi<\/a> (Post Impact: 4%)<\/strong> questioned the logic, asking why al-Maliki and his party continuously stoke fears of the Ba’ath’s return if he now claims it is impossible.<\/p>\n Several posts highlighted escalating security and ethnic tensions in Kirkuk. Othman Al-Mukhtar<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%)<\/strong> contrasted the swift action taken by Masoud Barzani after a Kurdish citizen was reportedly mistreated by soldiers in Kirkuk with what he described as the inaction of Sunni leaders regarding over 86,000 Sunnis who have been missing since 2016. In parallel, the account Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong> reported on “terrorist verbal and physical assaults” against the Iraqi army and the Kirkuk Operations Commander by “Kurdish groups with party support.” The same account later reported that the Iraqi army had arrested several “cadres of Kurdish party channels” who came from Erbil to Kirkuk to “incite against the army and security forces.”<\/p>\n News circulated that the Sadrist movement, which had previously withdrawn from the political process, may be preparing for a return. Dr. Qusay Shafiq<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> posted an “urgent” update claiming, “The Sadrist movement registers its name with the commission to enter the upcoming elections.”<\/em> This report was echoed by the account Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 3%)<\/strong>, who cited “political sources to Sky News Arabia” for the information that the movement had registered with the Independent High Electoral Commission to contest the next election.<\/p>\n Discussions pointed to a significant internal power struggle within the leadership of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Hiba Al-Nnayib<\/a> (Post Impact: 5%)<\/strong> alleged that Nouri al-Maliki and Qais Khazali are actively “seeking to overthrow” PMF Chairman Faleh al-Fayyad and Chief of Staff Abu Fadak, claiming that the dispute over the PMF law is exposing these deep divisions. Corroborating the idea of a threat to al-Fayyad’s position, Raad Hashim<\/a> (Post Impact: 2%)<\/strong> cited a report from Erem News stating that Faleh al-Fayyad had “asked an Iranian general to intervene to prevent his removal” from the presidency of the PMF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on an analysis of 535 X \/ Twitter posts trending on February 18, 2025, by Miqrab AI, the primary narratives in Iraq revolve around severe economic anxiety and significant political maneuvering. Widespread discussions focus on an impending financial crisis, with users citing admissions from the Minister of Finance about a deficit in funding public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9862,"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-9861","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\/9861","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=9861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9863,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9861\/revisions\/9863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Widespread Fears of Economic Collapse and Salary Crisis<\/h2>\n
3. Commentary on Regional Conflicts in Ukraine and Syria<\/h2>\n
4. Warnings of Impending US Sanctions on Iraq<\/h2>\n
5. Saudi-Hosted US-Russia Negotiations Spark Speculation<\/h2>\n
6. Rising Discontent and Predictions of Popular Unrest<\/h2>\n
7. Criticism and Mockery Directed at Nouri al-Maliki<\/h2>\n
8. Security Tensions and Ethnic Friction Flare Up in Kirkuk<\/h2>\n
9. Sadrist Movement Reportedly Registers for Upcoming Elections<\/h2>\n
10. Reports Reveal Power Struggles Within the PMF Leadership<\/h2>\n