Border Reopening Brings Desperate Iranians to Iraq for Food, Internet Access

Following the reopening of the Iraq-Iran border, dozens of Iranians traveled to northern Iraq seeking affordable groceries, internet connectivity, and employment opportunities. The visitors described deteriorating conditions in Iran due to ongoing conflict, including widespread airstrikes and dramatically increased food costs.

HAJI OMERAN, Iraq (AP) — When the border between Iraq and Iran reopened on Sunday for the first time since warfare began affecting the region, dozens of Iranian citizens immediately made the journey into northern Iraq seeking basic necessities, internet connections, communication with family members, and employment opportunities.

Those making the crossing described increasingly dire conditions within Iran, where continuous aerial bombardments and dramatically rising food costs have created desperate circumstances for residents.

Long lines of commercial vehicles carrying merchandise moved through the Haji Omeran border crossing from Iraq’s Kurdish territory, providing much-needed relief from the elevated prices Iranian citizens face at home.

The connection between these regions predates the current conflict, as Iranian Kurds have historically maintained regular contact with Iraqi Kurdistan due to shared family connections, cultural bonds, and economic relationships facilitated by borders that allow consistent commerce and family visits. The Iraqi Kurdish region now serves as an essential connection point for Iranians seeking contact with the broader world during wartime.

“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.

Border authorities had suspended operations due to escalating military tensions in the region. Iraqi Kurdish officials had been awaiting Iranian approval to resume crossing operations.

Nearly every Iranian Kurd who spoke with The Associated Press requested anonymity, expressing concerns about personal safety and potential retaliation from Iranian intelligence services, which they claim monitor individuals who communicate with news organizations.

According to these sources, numerous Iranian military installations, intelligence facilities, and security locations have suffered destruction. The bombing campaigns have limited security personnel movements, with officers avoiding government buildings and instead taking shelter in civilian locations like educational institutions and medical facilities, or remaining mobile in vehicles rather than reporting to traditional posts.

One Kurdish woman from Piranshahr made the 15-kilometer journey across the border on Sunday to reach family members and purchase necessary supplies.

“I came here to make a phone call. In most of Iran there is no internet,” she said. “For more than 16 days my relatives haven’t heard from me, and they are worried about me.”

She explained that many Iranians purchase Iraqi mobile phone cards and travel to border areas to establish connections and contact relatives overseas due to widespread internet disruptions throughout the country. Her trip allowed her to obtain communication services and update her family on her situation.

She proceeded to the marketplace in the border town to purchase food items at significantly reduced prices compared to her hometown of Piranshahr. She focused on essential items including rice and cooking oil, which have become unaffordable in Iran due to wartime price increases.

“The situation In Iran is terrible. People don’t feel safe, things are expensive, people don’t want to leave their homes,” she said.

Approximately thirty minutes later, she returned across the border carrying two shopping bags filled with groceries, explaining that her children were waiting for her return.

An elderly woman wearing a black head covering and light clothing despite heavy rainfall walked alone across the border checkpoint. She had traveled from Sardasht in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province and planned to continue to Choman in Iraq’s Kurdish region, approximately 40 kilometers from the border, to locate distant family members and request assistance.

Her son, who had earned income through cross-border smuggling of cigarettes and other merchandise, was fatally shot by Iranian military personnel 14 months earlier. Such smuggling activities are common in this porous border region. As the family’s only income source, his death left them without resources while caring for three children, the oldest being five years old.

With food costs climbing, she struggles to provide meals and has fallen two months behind on rent, owing approximately $200. “I don’t have anyone there to help me survive,” she said through tears. “The war made things worse — everything is more expensive.”

Unable to contact her relatives in advance, she hoped they would provide assistance. “I am powerless, but the kids are hungry and I must do my best for them,” she said. She was later seen standing in the rain seeking transportation from passing vehicles.

A group of Iranian workers from three different cities shared a taxi as they returned from visiting home, heading back to their employment in the Iraqi Kurdish region. The men work for the same construction company and planned to remain for one month to earn sufficient income to address increasing costs in their home communities.

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

Iranian Kurds residing near locations used by Iranian government forces reported being forced to evacuate to safer areas to avoid bombardment.

A house painter who lives in the Iranian city of Urmia but works in Irbil, northern Iraq, described constant bombardment as a regular occurrence. He had briefly returned home after his mother expressed fear about the explosions, and he assured her that the family had no connections to Iranian authorities and faced no direct threat.

Conditions had become so severe that another Iranian Kurdish factory worker specializing in metalwork and living in the Iraqi Kurdish region urged his family in Urmia to relocate and join him. His family, including his wife and three children, arrived on Sunday and rested at a roadside restaurant.

He reported that security forces no longer use their bases following repeated attacks. Many military, intelligence and police facilities have been destroyed, and personnel avoid stationary positions.

“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.”