ZANJAN, Iran (AP) — A black banner hangs over the border crossing and portraits of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stare down, promising vengeance against the United States and Israel.

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.

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 that has jolted the world economy and shows no sign of ending five weeks after Khamenei was killed in the opening US and Israeli salvo.

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 fixer from a government-affiliated company.

AP retains full editorial control of its content.

A religious center damaged by an airstrike

The first major sign of the war’s destruction came in the northwestern city of Zanjan, about six hours’ drive from the border.

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.

When asked about the strike, the Israeli military said it had hit “a military headquarters,” and that it tries to avoid harming civilian facilities, without elaborating.

“It has hurt me a lot and distressed me a lot,” said Somayeh Shojaei, a local resident who has attended religious and cultural events at the center.........

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