Based on an analysis of (456) X \/ Twitter posts trending in Iraq on February 19, 2026, Miqrab AI found that the discourse was heavily dominated by escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, alongside intense domestic political maneuvering over the formation of the next Iraqi government. The most prominent narrative involved widespread speculation and reports of an imminent US military strike against Iran, with users sharing updates on American military movements and official warnings from various countries. Domestically, the controversy surrounding Nouri al-Maliki’s potential candidacy for prime minister was a major focal point, with discussions centering on American opposition and internal pressures within the Shia Coordination Framework for him to withdraw. Other significant topics included local political developments, such as the election of a new governor in Salah al-Din amid accusations of corruption, social controversies surrounding a Ramadan television series, and commemorations of key historical figures.<\/p>\n
The most dominant story on Iraqi X \/ Twitter is the escalating tension between the United States and Iran, with numerous accounts reporting on what they describe as an imminent military conflict. Accounts like Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 35%)<\/strong> provided detailed analyses of US military movements, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has convinced US President Trump to opt for war over negotiations. Mazin AlEshaiker<\/a> (Post Impact: 43%)<\/strong> reported, citing Axios, that President Trump was called to an urgent meeting to discuss the crisis. Further fueling the speculation, Salem Aljomaili<\/a> (Post Impact: 23%)<\/strong> shared a Kremlin statement indicating that Moscow had informed Tehran of intelligence pointing to a likely US military operation within “hours or days.<\/em>” Pro-Iranian accounts, such as Dr. Hussein Al-Safi<\/a> (Post Impact: 32%)<\/strong>, highlighted Ayatollah Khamenei’s attendance at a Quranic event despite the threats, asking, “what courage this great man possesses.<\/em>”<\/p>\n A major political storm is brewing over Nouri al-Maliki’s candidacy for Prime Minister, facing strong opposition both internationally and domestically. The account Faiq Al-Sheikh Ali\/Kalimati Lil Tarikh<\/a> (Post Impact: 100%)<\/strong> issued a fiery denunciation, stating, “Nouri al-Maliki to the dustbins of history.<\/em>” Other users, like Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 37%)<\/strong>, claim that pro-Coordination Framework bloggers have begun a campaign urging al-Maliki to withdraw his candidacy as a face-saving measure, declaring, “Nouri is finished.<\/em>” Ezzat Alshabandar<\/a> (Post Impact: 23%)<\/strong> criticized political leaders for focusing on convincing al-Maliki to withdraw due to American threats, arguing that condemning “blatant American interference<\/em>” should be the national priority. Meanwhile, al-Maliki’s official account, Nouri Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 29%)<\/strong>, posted Ramadan greetings, calling for national unity without addressing the controversy directly.<\/p>\n A series of viral clips featuring controversial statements by Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman sparked significant debate. The account Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 49%)<\/strong> highlighted Suleiman’s contradictory remarks regarding the fall of Anbar in 2014. In one clip, Suleiman claims his side fought the Baghdad government and “gave the army dishdashas and kicked them out of Anbar,<\/em>” only to moments later ask how ISIS entered the province and who allowed them in when the army was under government control. In another post, Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 40%)<\/strong> shared a clip of Suleiman defending Syrian militant leader al-Jolani, challenging anyone to “find a single dead Iraqi and say al-Jolani killed me?! There are none.<\/em>” These posts were shared to portray Suleiman as contradictory and controversial in his positions on national security and regional figures.<\/p>\n The Saudi-owned television channel MBC Iraq is facing a backlash over its Ramadan series titled “Hamdiya,” which critics allege is a deliberate provocation against the Iraqi public. Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 31%)<\/strong> noted that the channel continues to air the show despite official and unofficial negative reactions in Iraq. This sentiment was echoed by Najeh Abbas Al-Mizan<\/a> (Post Impact: 16%)<\/strong>, who sarcastically noted that pro-Iranian factions, upon seeing the seriousness of US military build-up, redirected their efforts to besieging the MBC office. Abbas Al-Ardawi<\/a> (Post Impact: 10%)<\/strong> labeled the channel a “platform of sedition<\/em>” and described its actions as “criminal and a form of social terrorism.<\/em>” The criticism centers on the perception that the show is insulting and intentionally divisive.<\/p>\n The election of Haytham al-Zahwan as the new governor of Salah al-Din has triggered a wave of discussion about political deal-making and corruption. While former Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Al-Halbousi<\/a> (Post Impact: 16%)<\/strong> congratulated al-Zahwan and praised the political consensus that led to his election, other commentators focused on allegations of bribery. Dr. Majid Shingali<\/a> (Post Impact: 13%)<\/strong> cited media reports that the price per vote from a provincial council member reached 2.5 billion dinars, questioning where the judiciary and integrity commission are. Omar Al-Janabi<\/a> (Post Impact: 12%)<\/strong> framed the election as another political victory for Mohammed Al-Halbousi over his rival Muthanna al-Samarrai, highlighting the complex political maneuvering that secured the outcome.<\/p>\n Several political figures and social media users commemorated the anniversary of the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr and his two sons. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani<\/a> (Post Impact: 20%)<\/strong> issued a statement remembering the “crime of the defunct regime,<\/em>” praising al-Sadr’s jihadist biography and sacrifice as a “major condemnation of the regime’s oppressive methods.<\/em>” Similarly, Hisham Al-Rikabi<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong>, an advisor to the Prime Minister, described al-Sadr as a “lofty scientific, jurisprudential, and jihadist figure.<\/em>” In contrast, Mahdi Majeed<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%)<\/strong> raised questions about the assassination, asking whether Saddam Hussein was truly responsible or if Iran had orchestrated it, while acknowledging al-Sadr as a man of vast knowledge worthy of his religious title.<\/p>\n The Shia Coordination Framework is facing criticism for its internal divisions and what some users perceive as misplaced priorities. Yasser Eljuboori<\/a> (Post Impact: 20%)<\/strong> chastised the Framework and its supporters for their inaction on major issues like a tweet from Trump about al-Maliki and insults against Grand Ayatollah Sistani, yet they “went and burned the MBC building over a series they haven’t seen.<\/em>” Rusly Al-Maliki<\/a> (Post Impact: 24%)<\/strong>, citing Monte Carlo Doualiya, reported that the Framework had offered Washington to disarm factions of their drones and missiles, suggesting a disconnect between public posturing and private negotiations. The user Adam<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong> pointed out the irony of Framework members invoking different Imams to justify their opposing stances on al-Maliki’s candidacy, highlighting the deep political infighting.<\/p>\n The future of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and its structure is a subject of ongoing debate, particularly in light of reported American conditions. Sheikh Thaer Al-Bayati<\/a> (Post Impact: 10%)<\/strong> clarified that the US demand is not to merge the entire PMF into the army, but rather to separate the PMF faction loyal to the religious authority (Marja’iya) and allow its members to volunteer for the army under the Ministry of Defence. He stated that for other factions, especially those linked to Iran’s IRGC, the required action is “dissolution, not integration.<\/em>” In another post, Sheikh Thaer Al-Bayati<\/a> (Post Impact: 21%)<\/strong> envisioned a future Iraq with “One state, one weapon, one decision,<\/em>” where there is no place for sectarian militias. Conversely, Dr. Ahmed Al-Abbasi<\/a> (Post Impact: 9%)<\/strong> urged the Coordination Framework to use its parliamentary majority to pass the PMF law and defy the United States.<\/p>\n With the beginning of Ramadan, posts highlighted both the revival of old traditions and the state’s enforcement of public fasting. The official account of the Iraqi Ministry of Defence<\/a> (Post Impact: 17%)<\/strong> announced that the army would fire a cannon daily at Iftar time in Baghdad to celebrate the holy month, reviving a historic tradition. This was also covered by Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 12%)<\/strong>. On a different note, Haidar<\/a> (Post Impact: 17%)<\/strong> reported that the Ministry of Interior had begun deploying patrols in streets and near restaurants to “monitor cases of public breaking of the fast and arrest the offenders,<\/em>” signaling a strict enforcement of religious observance during the day.<\/p>\n Several users discussed the decisive role of the United States in the selection of Iraq’s next prime minister. Liqaa Maki<\/a> (Post Impact: 20%)<\/strong> asserted that the next prime minister’s nomination “will not be announced without Washington’s approval,<\/em>” and that the essential condition is their “animosity towards Iran.<\/em>” Ezzat Alshabandar<\/a> (Post Impact: 23%)<\/strong> lamented that Iraqi leaders were preoccupied with convincing Nouri al-Maliki to withdraw due to American threats rather than condemning the interference itself. Corroborating this perspective, Husham Ali<\/a> (Post Impact: 7%)<\/strong> shared a clip where Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stated that “the Americans point to the Iranian blessing for al-Maliki’s nomination<\/em>” when discussing the matter, confirming that the US is actively opposing candidates it perceives as backed by Tehran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on an analysis of (456) X \/ Twitter posts trending in Iraq on February 19, 2026, Miqrab AI found that the discourse was heavily dominated by escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, alongside intense domestic political maneuvering over the formation of the next Iraqi government. The most prominent narrative involved widespread […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9989,"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-9988","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\/9988","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=9988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9990,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions\/9990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miqrab.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Nouri al-Maliki’s Contentious Prime Minister Candidacy<\/h2>\n
3. Controversial Statements by Sheikh Ali Hatem Suleiman<\/h2>\n
4. Outrage over MBC Iraq’s Ramadan Series “Hamdiya”<\/h2>\n
5. Salah al-Din Governor Election Sparks Corruption Allegations<\/h2>\n
6. Commemoration of Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr’s Assassination<\/h2>\n
7. Criticism of the Shia Coordination Framework’s Priorities<\/h2>\n
8. Discussions on the Future of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)<\/h2>\n
9. Ramadan Traditions and Public Fasting Enforcement<\/h2>\n
10. U.S. Influence Over Iraq’s Next Prime Minister<\/h2>\n