At the border crossing from Iran into Iraqi Kurdistan, the stern face of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, peers down at the trickle of Iranians leaving the territory.
Thick snowflakes confetti the lorries and pedestrians arriving at this remote mountain pass.
Meters away, just beyond the border post, an Iranian flag flutters in the snow.
Iran has shut down the internet and blocked phone calls into the country, but its borders are still open.
Inside the arrivals hall, we find dozens of men, women, and children – many arriving to visit family on the Iraqi side of the border.
No one we met said they were fleeing Iran because of the recent protests and government crackdown, but one man – who asked us to hide his identity – told us security forces had shot him during a protest in central Iran last Friday.
I was hit in the face by seven pellet rounds, he said, pointing out several weals and bruises on his face. They struck above my eyelid, on my forehead, my cheek, my lip, under my ear and along my jaw. I had to use a razor blade to cut one of the pellets out.
He told us he was too afraid of being arrested to get medical help, and that others injured during the government crackdown on protestors were also avoiding treatment, out of fear that security forces would arrive and arrest them.
One of my friends told me he was hit by a pellet round, he told us. His son, who is around 12 or 13 years old, was struck twice in the leg by live ammunition. One of the bullets is lodged in the shin bone. They’re terrified of going to hospital to have it removed.
Iran's regime has treated these protests as an existential threat. Its crackdown seems to be working, and protesters are now thought to be largely staying at home, for fear of being shot or arrested. Rights groups say at least around 2,500 people have been killed.
But several people here told us that demonstrations had continued, at least into this week. The protester we spoke to said security forces had crushed protests in his town last Friday, but that they had continued elsewhere.
Demonstrations were still going on in Fardis and Malard, and some areas of Tehran, he said. My friends were there. We were constantly on the phone. On Tuesday night, the protests were still going on, but I haven't had any updates since then.
Iranians don’t need a visa to cross here, and officials say there is regular traffic back and forth.
The government's repression seems to be effective, but the underlying economic problems that sparked the protests have not disappeared. A teacher from a town close to the border expressed her frustration: We don’t want anything more than our basic rights. To own a house, to own a car, to have a normal life. My salary lasts 10 days, and I have to borrow money to cover the rest of the month. It’s very bad.
As this border crossing remains a point of tragic tales and resilience, it underscores the desperation of the Iranian populace and their quest for basic rights amidst severe repression.
