ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The CEO of Erbil-based Korek Telecom on Thursday branded actions taken by Iraq’s telecommunications regulator to halt its operations as “illegal and personal,” saying Korek has launched legal proceedings in three Iraqi courts.
“The decision Iraq issued against Korek Telecom is illegal and was made outside of the established system. No official or entity can issue such a decision on their own; this decision is personal,” CEO Sirwan Barzani told Rudaw's Solin Mohammed.
“We have taken legal action in three Iraqi courts," he said, adding that "if they do not adhere to the law and if the rule of law is not supreme in Iraq, then Iraq will become a ‘law of the jungle’ and we will have other reactions,” he said.
Barzani’s comments came a day after Iraq’s Communication and Media Commission (CMC) began pursuing measures aimed at ending Korek’s operations.
The CMC on Wednesday sent messages to Korek subscribers to take precautionary measures over the possibility of a sudden discontinuation of the carrier’s services following calls for the company to halt operations after its June decision to cancel their contract.
The years-long dispute between Korek and the CMC escalated in June, when the regulator announced the expiration of Korek’s operating contract and cancelled a 2025 settlement agreement over alleged breaches of contractual obligations and failure to meet legal and financial commitments.
Korek said on August 9 that the settlement process had followed recommendations by a government committee approved by Iraq’s former prime minister in 2025 to resolve the dispute and allow the company to obtain a 4G service license.
According to the carrier, several documents were exchanged between the two sides until June 2, but obstacles to signing the operating contract remained unresolved, prompting the CMC to cancel the settlement agreement.
The commission on Wednesday advised users to register a mobile number with another licensed operator in Iraq to receive verification codes, authentication messages and account recovery requests. It also recommended alternative recovery methods, such as email addresses and authenticator applications.
“Do not wait until the reception of text messages stops,” the CMC said, urging users to complete the measures as soon as possible.
Barzani disputed the commission’s authority to issue the decision, saying the CMC does not have the legal power to take such action, arguing that the CMC chief executive does not have the authority to cancel a settlement approved by higher authorities.
Korek called on Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to intervene and restore its rights, saying it will continue to defend its interests through legal channels.
The CMC and Korek have been engaged in a prolonged legal and financial dispute. The regulator began enforcement measures against Korek in late 2023 over alleged unpaid financial obligations, including restricting the company’s internet services outside the Kurdistan Region and blocking interconnected calls with other mobile networks in Iraq.
Iraqi lawmaker Zahra al-Bajari said in January 2025 that Korek owed the CMC around two trillion Iraqi dinars (over $1.5 billion), in licensing fees and other outstanding debts. Korek has disputed the claim.
Following the CMC’s June decision, Korek accused the regulator of taking “successive arbitrary measures motivated by the political movement to which the Commission's management is an affiliate of.”
The company has maintained that the CMC “does not have the authority to cancel the settlement, which was approved by higher authorities and was not the result of a decision by the Commission itself.”
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