Today, at this press conference, we addressed the significant increase in gasoline prices in the Kurdistan Region. The price of premium gasoline (RON 95) currently ranges from IQD 1,250 per liter in Sulaymaniyah to IQD 1,500 per liter in Erbil. These prices are higher than those of the same grade of gasoline in Baghdad, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Iran.

We consider this an injustice to the citizens of the Kurdistan Region. Like those countries, the Kurdistan Region possesses both oil resources and refineries. Therefore, there is no justifiable reason for imposing these additional costs on its citizens.

This comes at a time when the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Kurdistan Region is refining approximately 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day. If petroleum products were distributed in accordance with the law, citizens’ rights, and the government-subsidized pricing system, it would not only provide direct benefits to the people—as is the case in the rest of Iraq’s provinces—but would also contribute to a noticeable reduction in commercial gasoline prices.

Another factor contributing to these high prices is the monopoly over the gasoline trade by the two ruling parties. Traders are either prevented from importing gasoline freely or are required to pay substantial fees or enter into partnership arrangements. As a result, these additional costs are ultimately passed on to citizens through higher gasoline prices.

Therefore, we call on both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq to work together to put an end to the continued burden of high fuel prices on citizens and to ensure that the people of the Kurdistan Region, like the citizens of Iraq’s central and southern provinces, benefit from government-subsidized gasoline.

At the same time, we announce that we have referred this matter to the Kurdistan Region Commission of Integrity so that it may fulfill its legal responsibilities, in coordination with the Board of Supreme Audit, to protect citizens’ rights and put an end to legal violations and abuses.

Omar Gulpi
July 8, 2026