ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A Baghdad court on Sunday temporarily suspended all decisions issued against Kurdistan Region-based Korek Telecom by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), which has taken measures against the operator over alleged unpaid financial obligations.

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 its failure to pay financial obligations.

Korek, which is one of the Kurdistan Region’s leading operators, has repeatedly slammed the CMC’s measures as “unlawful”.

“Today, Sunday, the Rusafa Court in Baghdad issued an injunction — that is, a temporary order — to suspend the implementation of all previous decisions by the Iraqi Communications Commission against Korek Telecom,” a source told The New Region on the condition of anonymity. 

Korek’s operations will continue normally until both sides submit the necessary documents and the court issues a final ruling, the source added.

On Thursday, the CMC said it had shut down several centers belonging to Korek Telecom as the regulator intensified measures against the company.

The commission said it coordinated the measures with the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) to shut down Korek Telecom’s main site in Baghdad’s Jadriya neighborhood, along with three other Korek sales centers across the capital.

The development came a day after the regulator called on Korek users to add an alternative phone number from other operators to their digital accounts to prevent losing access to them if 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.”

In February 2025, the CMC also 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.