diff --git a/src/codegen/git/repo_operator/repo_operator.py b/src/codegen/git/repo_operator/repo_operator.py
index 9f1f58007..97d3db59a 100644
--- a/src/codegen/git/repo_operator/repo_operator.py
+++ b/src/codegen/git/repo_operator/repo_operator.py
@@ -647,9 +647,8 @@ def iter_files(
                         content = self.get_file(filepath)
                         yield rel_filepath, content
                     else:
-                        # WTF??? A no-op file read here fixes file parsing somehow?
-                        open(filepath).close()
-                        yield rel_filepath, ""
+                        if os.path.exists(filepath):
+                            yield rel_filepath, ""
                 except Exception as e:
                     logger.warning(f"Error reading file {filepath}: {e}")