Travelers approach on foot the border crossing with Turkey at the Razi crossing in Razi, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-04-06T11:53:30Z<\/p>\n
ZANJAN, Iran (AP) \u2014 A black banner hangs over the border crossing and portraits of Iran\u2019s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stare down, promising vengeance<\/a><\/span> against the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n But on the 12-hour drive south to the capital, Tehran, daily life continued, with only occasional signs of the ongoing war, including a Shiite religious center that officials say was damaged by a recent airstrike.<\/p>\n Associated Press reporters made the journey on Saturday after crossing into Iran from Turkey. They gained a glimpse of the country at the center of a regional war<\/a><\/span> that has jolted the world economy<\/a><\/span> and shows no sign of ending<\/a><\/span> five weeks after Khamenei was killed<\/a><\/span> in the opening U.S. and Israeli salvo.<\/p>\n The Associated Press has been granted permission by the Iranian government to send an additional team into the country for a brief reporting trip. AP already operates in Iran. The visiting team must be accompanied by a media assistant from a government-affiliated company. AP retains full editorial control of its content.<\/p>\n The first major sign of the war\u2019s destruction came in the northwestern city of Zanjan, about six hours\u2019 drive from the border.<\/p>\n Iranian officials say an airstrike hit a religious community center, known as a husseiniyah, killing two people and destroying a clinic and a library. Other parts of the compound, some of which is centuries old, suffered damage, including its golden dome.<\/p>\n When asked about the strike, the Israeli military said it had hit \u201ca military headquarters,\u201d and that it tries to avoid harming civilian facilities, without elaborating.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has hurt me a lot and distressed me a lot,\u201d said Somayeh Shojaei, a local resident who has attended religious and cultural events at the center. \u201cWith these airstrikes, (the U.S. and Israel) are showing their malicious intent to the whole world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\nA religious center damaged by an airstrike<\/h2>\n