ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq –A group of Kurdistan Region-based lawyers are set to file a lawsuit against the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) over “their stance in Baghdad” regarding the state of the Region’s civil servants’ salaries, one of the lawyers told The New Region on Wednesday.

The KIU “appeared more like [Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’] al-Sudani’s representatives in their press conference yesterday and their words opposed the Kurdistan Region,” said Karzan Hanarayi, one of the lawyers in question. “For that reason, we will file a lawsuit with the attorney-general against them.”

A delegation of the KIU met with Sudani on Tuesday and held a press conference after the meeting, during which they laid the blame for the dispute on the Kurdistan Region and read out a message by Sudani in Arabic to reporters.

The move sparked public outrage on social media, with many people voicing their opposition to the KIU’s position after the meeting.

In a letter addressed to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) last week, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami said that they are “unable to continue funding the Region,” arguing that the Region has exceeded its 12.67 percent share of the annual budget, totaling 13.5 trillion dinars.

Sami claimed that from 2023 until April 2025, the Kurdistan Region had handed over only 598.5 billion dinars out of its total combined oil and non-oil revenues of 19.9 trillion dinars.

The KIU’s presser prompted reactions from other officials and bodies in the Kurdistan Region, with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) slamming the move in a statement, saying that the KIU has acted as a “spokesperson and translator… for those who have unrightfully violated the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region.”

The legal action comes three days after Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court announced on Sunday that a lawsuit had been filed by civil servants from the Kurdistan Region demanding uninterrupted funding of their salaries as per a previous ruling of the court.

Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Shakhawan Abdullah, who is also a Kurd, urged the KIU to heed the Kurdistan Region’s side as well and hold a similar meeting with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to get the full picture.

Abdullah revealed that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Construction Minister Bangin Rekani had joined him to hold a meeting with Sudani on Sunday after the announcement from the finance ministry, during which they discussed “the details and technical and financial issues" hampering the disbursement of salaries.