Iraq begins paying May salaries for Kurdistan Region public sector employees

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Ministry of Finance said Tuesday it has begun disbursing May salaries for public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region, following a recent “mutual understanding” between Baghdad and Erbil.

The ministry said the payments were being made in accordance with Cabinet Decision No. 550, issued during an emergency session on July 17.

As part of the deal, the Kurdistan Regional Government agreed to deliver oil produced in the region to the federal State Organization for Marketing of Oil, and will continue deliveries until it fulfills the required quotas outlined in the cabinet’s decision, according to the statement.

The announcement comes after weeks of tension over budget transfers. KRG employees have gone nearly three months without pay, amid a standoff that escalated in May when the federal Finance Ministry accused the KRG of exceeding its 2025 budget allocation by more than 19 trillion dinars and failing to submit verifiable data on oil and non-oil revenues. The KRG has rejected the claims, saying it has honored all constitutional requirements.

The ministry also confirmed receipt of a first installment of 120 billion dinars in non-oil revenue from the KRG and said technical teams were working to implement the rest of the July 17 agreement.

“The Ministry of Finance affirms that it will continue to fulfill its legal and constitutional obligations toward the Kurdistan Regional Government as long as it remains committed to implementing the federal budget law, decisions of the Federal Supreme Court, and the recent Cabinet decision,” the statement said.

The agreement comes as Kurdistan’s oil sector struggles to recover from recent drone attacks that temporarily halted production at multiple sites, taking more than 200,000 barrels per day offline, according to the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan.