EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers on Wednesday accused the Iraqi government of imposing a “siege” on the Region by withholding public sector salaries, leaving over a million civil servants unpaid days before Eid al-Adha. “The decision to halt the Kurdistan Region’s salaries is unconstitutional and illegal, and constitutes collective punishment of all the Kurdistan Region’s citizens,” the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the KRG has fulfilled its obligations and “transparently presented all financial data and information to the joint team of both the federal and regional financial oversight bureaus,” according to the statement. Barzani added that a joint agreement was signed at the beginning of the 2025 fiscal year between the federal and regional finance ministries to provide all monthly salaries based on a federal court ruling that prevents disputes between the two governments from affecting budget implementation. Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad escalated last week after the Iraqi finance ministry said it would halt all budget transfers to the KRG, including salaries for over one million public sector employees for the remainder of the year. Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami, moreover, accused Erbil of exceeding its 2025 budget share by over $10 billion and cited its failure to hand over revenues, while KRG Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab rejected the figures as “made up” and criticized Baghdad’s justification as “laughable.” “Under no pretext or excuse should the Region’s employees’ salaries be halted for the next eight months, especially with only a few days remaining until the holy Eid al-Adha,” the KRG stated, slamming Baghdad’s “political decision” as one that “is imposing a blockade on the region.” During the meeting, the KRG Council of Ministers also decided to call for help from the international community to resolve the salary crisis. Abdullah Haji Mahmood, the Kurdistan Region’s martyrs and Anfal affairs minister, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdalrahman on Wednesday that “only two days are left [before Eid al-Adha holidays]. I do not think [that salaries will be disbursed],” adding that they will pursue diplomatic and legal approaches to resolve the issue. On Tuesday, Iraqi parliament second deputy speaker Shakhawan Abdullah, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) member, said in a Facebook post that he and other senior party officials met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday to deliver a message from KDP leader Masoud Barzani, stating that “under no pretext should people's salaries be suspended.” Abdullah said Sudani responded that if the Supreme Federal Court issues a decision or administrative order in response to a complaint, he would disburse the salaries. Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Sunday said it had received a complaint from the Region's civil servants seeking an injunction to guarantee continued payments. However, a senior Iraqi government source told Rudaw on Monday that a ruling is unlikely soon, as some court members are currently on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia for Hajj. Abdullah explained that the court has not been able to rule because the chief justice and four other judges are away for the pilgrimage. Four judges and four reserves remain in Baghdad, he added, but the court still cannot form a quorum. In protest of Baghdad’s decision, KDP ministers in the Iraqi government, including the high-profile Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, boycotted Tuesday’s Federal Council of Ministers meeting, according to Abdullah. The Shiite-led Coordination Framework on Monday urged Baghdad and Erbil to address their differences in accordance with the constitution and called for passage of a long-delayed oil and gas law, saying it is key to resolving long-standing disputes. The proposed law has been under discussion since 2007, with both sides putting forward competing drafts in 2023. They remain divided over contract authority, revenue sharing, and governance. Baghdad insists all oil revenues belong to the federal treasury, while the KRG continues to rely on its own 2007 law to sign contracts. A 2022 Federal Supreme Court ruling deemed the KRG’s oil law unconstitutional. The KRG rejected the decision and continued exports until a 2023 Paris-based arbitration court ruling halted exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port. In March, a federal lawmaker said the legislation is unlikely to pass this term due to the ongoing disagreements. The budget halt follows two controversial energy agreements, condemned as “unconstitutional” by Baghdad, signed in May between the Kurdistan Region and US firms worth around $110 million to develop regional gas fields during Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Washington. Khalida Khalil, spokesperson for KDP leader Barzani’s office, also criticized the move. “Turning employees’ salaries into a political weapon is a flagrant violation of human rights and even a crime against humanity,” she said on Tuesday. “History has taught us that all tyrannical regimes that used starvation as a weapon eventually fell.” With May salaries still unpaid, markets across the Kurdistan Region have stalled, a sharp contrast to the usual pre-Eid surge in commercial activity.
