Iranians cross into northern Iraq as border reopens for groceries, internet

A reopening brings shoppers, calls home and a chance at work

Dozens of Iranians crossed into northern Iraq on Sunday, the first day the border had opened since fighting struck their country, people interviewed at the Haji Omeran crossing said. Travelers described the move as a way to buy cheaper groceries, get internet access, contact relatives and find work in Iraq’s Kurdish region.

Travelers said life inside Iran has become increasingly desperate, citing constant airstrikes and soaring food prices. Trucks laden with goods were also seen moving through the crossing from Iraq’s Kurdish region, part of a long-running trade and visit pattern that several people said had been disrupted by the closure.

A lifeline shaped by war and inflation

Iraqi Kurds and Iranian Kurds have historically crossed between the Iranian border region and Iraq’s northern Kurdish area, with family, cultural and economic ties and porous border conditions supporting regular trade and visits. But after the border was shut amid heightened regional military tensions, the reopening returned access to goods and communications that people said were scarce on the Iranian side.

“When this border was closed, it affected everyone. Poor people, rich people, workers,” said Khider Chomani, a truck driver on his way to Iran carrying goods.

Fear and anonymity near the frontier

Almost all Iranian Kurds interviewed by the Associated Press asked to remain anonymous. They said they feared for their safety and reprisals from Iranian intelligence, which they alleged monitors people who speak to the media.

Several anonymous interviewees described damage to security infrastructure in Iran, saying many Iranian military bases, intelligence offices and other security sites have been destroyed. They also said the bombardment has curtailed security forces’ movements, with officers avoiding official buildings, sheltering in civilian sites such as schools and hospitals, or staying mobile in vehicles rather than reporting to their offices.

“In most of Iran there is no internet”

A Kurdish woman who crossed from Piranshahr said she went to make a phone call and described a lack of internet access. “I came here to make a phone call. In most of Iran there is no internet,” she said.

She said relatives had not heard from her for “more than 16 days,” and that they were worried about her. She also said many Iranians buy Iraqi SIM cards and gather near the frontier to connect and call family and friends abroad because of internet outages across Iran.

After crossing, she went to a market in the nearby town to buy basic staples, including rice and cooking oil, which she said are prohibitively expensive at home amid wartime inflation. “The situation In Iran is terrible. People don’t feel safe, things are expensive, people don’t want to leave their homes,” she said. About half an hour later, she returned across the border carrying two plastic bags of groceries with her children waiting for her.

Families seek help after a death tied to smuggling

An elderly woman who crossed on foot in pouring rain said she came from Sardasht in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province and was bound for Choman in Iraq’s Kurdish region, about 40 kilometers from the border, to find distant relatives and ask for help.

The woman said her son, described as a cross-border goods smuggler of cigarettes and other goods, was shot and killed by Iranian soldiers 14 months earlier. She said smuggling is a common livelihood in the porous frontier area, and that his death left the family penniless and caring for three children, the eldest just five.

With food prices surging, she said she could barely feed the children and was two months behind on rent, owing roughly $200. “I don’t have anyone there to help me survive,” she said through tears. “The war made things worse — everything is more expensive.”

She said she had not been able to call ahead and hoped her relatives could help. “I am powerless, but the kids are hungry and I must do my best for them,” she said as she waited in the rain for a passing car to give her a ride.

Workers return for pay as costs rise

Iranian workers from three cities were seen in a single taxi as they returned from a visit home, heading back to their jobs in Iraq’s Kurdish region. They said they planned to stay for about a month to make enough money to manage rising costs in Iran.

One worker said, “The situation will only become worse and civilians will be the only ones affected.” He added, “We left our kids and wives just to come and work here and make some money, otherwise we would not have left them alone.”

Bombardment changes how authorities move

People living near sites used by Iranian authorities said they were forced to flee to safer areas to avoid bombardment. A house painter who lives in Urmia but works in Irbil said constant bombardment had become a fact of life, including after he returned home briefly at his mother’s urging.

Another Iranian Kurdish metal factory worker, who lives in Iraq’s Kurdish region, said the repeated strikes had pushed security forces to move and avoid fixed posts. “They don’t stay in their offices,” he said. “They stay in their cars, under bridges, in schools and hospitals. They drive around. Their bases are destroyed.”