Statement from Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on the electricity situation

I want to thank the Kurdistani people for their patience and resilience following the terror attack on the Kurdistan Region’s gas infrastructure a few days ago. The patriotic people of the Kurdistan Region by and large have condemned this attack as an attack against every citizen, cutting power to millions of people in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq.

Tonight, we have agreed with Dana Gas to restart production in the next several hours to restore electricity. I have spoken with the company’s leadership to thank them and their workforce for their extraordinary resilience and determination amid eleven attacks on the Khor Mor field. I have assured them that the KRG will do all it can with partners in the federal government to hold the perpetrators accountable and prevent further terror attacks. In parallel, we are working with our international partners to secure the capabilities necessary to protect our people, critical infrastructure and investments.

This incident cannot be allowed to pass without public accountability. It cannot become the norm.

During this attack, it became patently clear that the adversaries and hired fixers could not fathom the progress of the Kurdistan Region or the well-being of its people. They instead resorted to cowardly, inhumane acts and plunged the public into darkness.

In that regard, I have urged Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to hold the perpetrators of this attack accountable to the full extent of the law, whoever they may be and wherever they are. That is the only true deterrence, and on this occasion, we expect serious measures to reassure the public and investors that this will not happen again. Iraq cannot attract investment when militias, mafias, the corrupt, and armed groups outside of the state’s control willingly bomb national infrastructure and investments at zero cost and find satisfaction in the suffering of the people of the Kurdistan Region. We condemn the individuals and groups that have celebrated this situation.

We thank the technical teams from both KRG ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity, and the security services, for their hard work in the field over the last few days.

As I have said in the past, these cowardly attacks will not deter our promise to improve the lives of our beloved citizens. We will continue our journey for progress and prosperity, and I urge the public to continue to support the government’s efforts and agenda.

Masrour Barzani