ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) on Thursday announced shutting down a number of centers belonging to Korek Telecom, as the regulator body intensifies measures against the Kurdistan Region-based operator.

In a statement on Thursday, the CMC said it coordinated field measures with the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) to shut down Korek Telecom’s main site in Baghdad’s Jadriya neighborhood, in addition to three other Korek sales centers across the Iraqi capital.

The development comes a day after the Iraqi telecommunications regulator called on Korek users to add an alternative phone number from other operators to their digital accounts to prevent losing access to them when verification messages stop.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sirwan Barzani, CEO of Korek Telecom, said that the CMC’s decision against the operator is “illegal and baseless, and is part of an economic, political, and security war against the Kurdistan Region.”

“These actions are part of the CMC's ongoing efforts to implement the decisions issued regarding Korek Telecom and to complete the legal and regulatory requirements related to halting the company's operations, in coordination with the relevant governmental and security authorities,” read the Thursday statement from the CMC.

Korek Telecom has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the CMC since November 2023, after the regulator blocked all incoming and outgoing communications between Korek and other carriers, citing Korek’s failure to pay its financial obligations.

In February 2025, the CMC said it had decided to immediately shut down Korek Telecom’s internet services, in a “punitive action” against the carrier over its failure to pay its debts.

Korek Telecom, one of the Kurdistan Region’s leading operators, has repeatedly slammed the CMC’s measures, deeming them “unlawful”.