Iranians living in Louisville having trouble connecting with family amid war

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — As the war in Iran continues, close to 2,000 Iranians living in Louisville are having trouble connecting with their home country.

Earlier this week, a seminar held at the Muhammad Ali Center gave people an opportunity to talk about the war and its impact on Iranians living in the city.

"Iranian society is a very complex society. It's dynamics it's very, you know, there are so many things, so many discourses and so much at stake for many people," said Dr. Maryam Moazzen, with the University of Louisville. "Iranians are quite proud and they are quite, you know, there's a sense of pride about their homeland and all that and I think a lot of raw emotions."

Phone calls and internet connections that once kept families connected have been cut off for more than a month.

Israel struck Iran's nuclear facilities Friday, hours after threatening to "escalate and expand" its campaign against Tehran, The Associated Press reported. Iran vowed to retaliate and struck a military base in Saudi Arabia, wounding at least 10 U.S. service members and damaging planes. Meanwhile, the U.S. military also continued striking Iran as President Donald Trump delayed his threat to obliterate Iran's energy plants over its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, the AP reported there appeared to be a breakthrough as Tehran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, accepting a request from the U.N.

Facing a convulsing stock market, Trump on Thursday extended a deadline for reopening the waterway until April 6, the AP reported, saying Iran asked for the grace period and that talks were going “very well,” despite Iran continuing to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House on a 15-point proposal to end the conflict.