Iraq’s Media Regulator Sets Two Conditions for Korek Telecom License

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The head of Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said on Thursday, that the commission has set two conditions for renewing Korek Telecom’s operating license and is awaiting the company’s response.

Baligh Abu Kalal, the CMC head, said that if Korek meets the conditions, the commission has no objection to renewing the license. The two conditions have not been made public.

Abu Kalal also addressed the reported ban on the Waze navigation app in Iraq. He said no decision has been made to shut down the application. Closing or banning any app requires careful investigation and complete procedures, he said. According to Abu Kalal, Waze continues to operate and will remain available until a decision is made on it.

Korek’s dispute with the CMC

Sirwan Barzani, the owner of Korek Telecom, said on Aug. 23, 2026, that the measures and pressure imposed on the company by the CMC were politically motivated rather than financial. He said recent court rulings require Korek’s operations in Iraq to be reinstated.

Barzani described the commission’s actions as “a clear injustice” and said it was unacceptable for a telecommunications company serving millions of subscribers to be shut down. “The issue with Korek is not financial; rather, Iraq itself is indebted to us,” he said, adding that Iraq’s highest judicial authorities had ruled in Korek’s favor. He alleged that the rulings had not been implemented and said the company would not yield to what he described as illegitimate political pressure.

Barzani also accused the CMC of discriminatory treatment. He cited what he called violations involving Korek’s telecommunications codes and alleged that a CMC director general had openly promoted another company. He said an advisory committee formed during the cabinet of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to examine the dispute had ultimately issued a decision in Korek’s favor.

On the company’s subscriber base, Barzani said Korek had more than seven million subscribers before the Baghdad decisions and now has more than 3.5 million, about 85% of them in the Kurdistan Region. He said Korek gained more than one million subscribers in Baghdad in less than a year after being permitted to operate there.

Barzani said a court ruling issued on Sunday requires Korek’s operations in Iraq to be reopened. He pledged that the company would keep providing services and thanked the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) parliamentary bloc in Iraq for opposing what he called the CMC’s unlawful decisions.

the Waze announcement

Iraqi Minister of Communications Mustafa Sanad announced on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, that the ministry had moved the Waze ban to the end of December, instead of the start of 2027. He said in a statement published by Iraqi media that the ministry had decided to cancel its earlier decision to ban the app at the start of 2027 and bring it forward to the end of December.

Sanad had earlier said the app is “Israeli-made” and that the ministry believes it is still run from Israel, despite Google’s acquisition of it. He said Waze provides financial and informational support to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. He acknowledged that Waze is widely used in Iraq but pointed to alternatives, including Google Maps and local Iraqi navigation apps.

The announcement sparked discussion on social media. Iraqi media quoted Sanad as saying that if opposition to the decision continued, the app would be banned immediately.

The app’s current privacy policy says it is owned by Google and may share some data with other Google mapping and navigation products. The developer says it has about 180 million monthly active users. Iraqi reports link the move to a 2022 law passed by the Iraqi parliament that imposes strict penalties for establishing political, economic or cultural relations with Israel.