Iran-Israel War: As soon as the Iran-Iraq border opened, dozens of Iranians reached Iraq in search of cheap goods, internet and work.

Haji Omran (Iraq): Dozens of Iranian citizens entered northern Iraq on Sunday after the border, long closed due to war, was opened to buy cheap food, use the Internet, contact relatives and look for work. Travelers said that frequent air strikes and rising food prices have made life in Iran extremely difficult. Trucks loaded with goods from the Kurdish region of Iraq were seen moving towards Iran through the Haji Omran border crossing. This is expected to provide some relief to the people struggling with rising prices in Iran. Iranian Kurds have been frequently moving into Iraqi Kurdistan even before the war with the US and Israel began.

Family, cultural and economic ties between the two regions are deep and trade and movement have been regular due to the open border. Now the Kurdish region of Iraq has become an important means of connecting with the outside world for Iranians in the war-torn region. Khider Chomani, a truck driver carrying goods to Iran, said, “When this border was closed, it affected the poor, the rich and the laborers.”

The border was closed after regional military tensions escalated. The Iraqi Kurdish administration had long been waiting for its Iranian counterparts to reopen it. Nearly all Iranian Kurds who spoke to AP requested anonymity, saying they feared for their safety and suspected Iranian intelligence agencies monitored those who spoke to the media. He claimed that several Iranian military bases, intelligence offices and other security establishments were destroyed in the attacks. The activities of the security forces have also been limited due to the bombing.

According to officials, many security personnel are staying away from government buildings, taking shelter in civilian facilities such as schools and hospitals, or moving around in vehicles instead of reporting to offices. A Kurdish woman from the Iranian city of Piranshahr crossed the border on Sunday to contact her relatives and buy essential goods. She told that she reached here after traveling 15 kilometers. “I came here to make a call,” she said. There is no internet in most parts of Iran. My relatives have not heard from me for the last 16 days and are worried.

The woman said that due to internet disruption across the country, many Iranians buy Iraqi SIM cards and go near the border to contact their family and friends living abroad. She had gone to the market near the border to buy essential commodities like rice and cooking oil at lower prices than in her hometown Piranshahr. According to him, due to the increase in inflation due to the war, the prices of these basic commodities have become very high in Iran. “The situation in Iran is very bad. People don’t feel safe, things are expensive and people don’t want to leave their homes,” she said.

After about half an hour, she quickly returned back to Iran carrying the goods in two plastic bags. He told that his children are waiting for him at home. Meanwhile, an elderly woman wrapped in a black shawl was seen crossing the border alone in the rain. She said she had come from Sardasht in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province and was heading to Choman city in the Iraqi Kurdish region, about 40 kilometers from the border. Some of her distant relatives live there, from whom she is hoping for help. He told that his son was killed by the bullets of Iranian soldiers 14 months ago. He used to smuggle cigarettes and other goods across the border, which is a common source of livelihood in this area. After the death of their son, the family is left with no source of income and she is taking care of three small children, the eldest of whom is five years old.

The woman said rising food prices have made it difficult to feed her children and two months’ worth of rent, about $200, is also outstanding. “There is no one there to help me. The war has made things worse. Everything has become more expensive,” she said, crying. She could not even inform her relatives in advance and was hoping that they would help her.

She said, “I am helpless, but the children are hungry and I have to do my best for them.” Meanwhile, three Iranian workers were returning to their work in the Iraqi Kurdish region in a taxi. He told that they work in the same construction company and intend to earn money by working for a month to cope with the rising inflation.

One of the workers said, “The situation will get worse and it will affect the common people only. We have left our children and wives and come here to work, otherwise we would not have left them alone.” A painter living in Urmia city of Iran and working in Erbil, Iraq said that continuous bombing has now become an everyday reality. He recently returned home to console his mother who was frightened by the blasts. Another Iranian Kurdish factory worker working in the Iraqi Kurdish region said that the conditions were so bad that he called his family, his wife and three children living in Urmia, to come and live here. He arrived here on Sunday and was seen resting at a roadside restaurant.

He said security forces no longer remained in their positions due to frequent attacks. Many military, intelligence and police bases have turned into ruins. He said, “They no longer live in their offices. They live in cars, under bridges, in schools and hospitals and are constantly moving around. Their hideouts have been destroyed.”