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Photos Show Daily Life in Iraq’s Basra Near Iranian Border as War Slows Trade
Tighter border controls and targeted attacks have disrupted trade and communications, forcing families to pay up to $50 for calls and rely on smuggled internet services.
- Iranian forces have significantly tightened control along the Iraq border, deploying cameras at checkpoints, increasing soldiers from five to 30 at each location, and stationing troops between positions to prevent cross-border movement.
- Historically, the mountainous Iraq-Iran border was porous, allowing families to gather and kolbars—traditional cross-border porters carrying goods like cigarettes and electronics—to operate freely across the frontier for generations.
- Families now rely on costly smuggled Starlink connections and VPNs costing about $25, after Iranian forces targeted Iraqi cell towers operated by Asiacell and Korek to block cross-border calls.
- Many residents now face total isolation from Iranian relatives, unable to make contact for weeks; locals fear being shot or beaten for approaching the border to access cell signals.
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard has deployed large numbers of troops across the region, arresting those with VPNs and accusing them of spying for Israel or America, intensifying a climate of surveillance and fear.
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21 Articles
21 Articles
Associated Press News+10 Reposted by 10 other sources
War disrupts life on the Iraq‑Iran border, isolating families and stifling trade
War and heavy Iranian security along the Iran-Iraq Kurdish border are cutting families off and crushing daily life, according to people reached by The Associated Press.
·United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources21
Leaning Left12Leaning Right1Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution63% Left
Bias Distribution
- 63% of the sources lean Left
63% Left
L 63%
C 32%
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