The Iraqi Minister of Communications, Mustafa Sand, confirmed on Thursday that there is currently no ban imposed on the navigation application "Waze," while emphasizing his previous position regarding its ban, and the move towards providing alternative local map and traffic monitoring applications.
During a speech at the "Internet Governance" forum organized by the Ministry of Communications in Baghdad, Sand stated that "there is no ban on the Waze application," adding, "I have not reversed the ban on Waze, and there will be alternative applications."
The minister explained that a number of Iraqi youths and local companies have worked on developing various applications, noting that the ministry has received offers and proposals related to mapping applications and vehicle traffic monitoring.
Sand expressed his belief that the emergence of these alternative applications will lead to a decrease in the use of "Waze" in Iraq in the coming period, expecting that reliance on it will diminish with the availability of local options.
The Minister of Communications had previously announced the ministry's intention to ban the application in Iraq at the beginning of 2027, justifying this as the application is Israeli-made, and confirming the work on providing local alternatives that meet users' needs in navigation.