ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – An Iraqi court has overturned the injunction against the Kurdistan Region-based Korek Telecom and upheld the state-run Communications and Media Commission’s (CMC) decision to suspend operations with the company, the CMC announced on Wednesday. 

In a statement, the CMC said that a Baghdad court issued a ruling on Monday “overturning the injunction filed by the managing director of Korek Telecom and upholding the CMC’s decision to suspend operations with the company.”

The body reiterated its continued adherence to legal procedures in matters related to the case of the operator, “in order to safeguard the rights of the state, the public interest, and the rights of users.”

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.

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 comes days 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.