Photos from Iran's roadside, from Tehran to the Turkish border

TABRIZ, Iran (AP) — After five days on assignment in Tehran, the AP team set out by road toward the Turkish border. For nearly 12 hours, scenes unfolded through the car window, everyday moments shaped by distance and movement.

Each image follows the route by its road number, beginning on Road 2 out of Tehran and continuing along Roads 16, 24, and 32. Along the way they spotted: shepherds with goats and sheep, passing trucks, a stray dog, and roadside life in motion. In Tabriz, a man spins cotton candy; elsewhere, a baker prepares bread, and vendors offer fruit, food and hot drinks. Near Golshahr, a quiet hotel corridor is swept clean.

All the while, stunning landscapes stretch beneath wide blue skies, scattered with bright white and darker drifting clouds.

The journey ends at the Razi–Kapıköy border crossing, where the road, and the story, shifts once more.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People wait for travellers coming from Iran at the Kapikoy border checkpoint, Turkey, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Travelers arriving from Iran carry bags at the Kapikoy border checkpoint, Turkey, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Travelers carry their bags as they walk from Turkey through border checkpoints into Iran at the Razi crossing near Razi, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Rays of sunlight break through clouds over a field on Road 11, near the Turkey border crossing, in Razi, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Road 32 stretches toward the Turkish border beneath Khoy Bridge near Razi, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A herd of sheep grazes in a field beside Road 11 near the border with Turkey, on the outskirts of Khoy, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A man drives a motorbike along Road 32 near Marand, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A stray dog walks along the tarmac on Road 24 near Baba Kandi village, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A man spins cotton candy for passersby in a public park near Road 2 in Tabriz, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Shepherds herd goats along Road 2 near Zanjan, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Vehicles drive along along Road 2 between Zanjan and Tabriz, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A baker pulls a rack of freshly baked local bread in a roadside bakery on Road 16 in Bostanabad, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A welcome sign greets visitors on Road 16, outside the town of Bostanabad, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A pickup truck loaded with bundled fabric is parked along Road 2 between Zanjan and Tabriz, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A shepherd is seen with his flock in a field next to Road 2 outside Zanjan, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A woman cleans the floor in a roadside hotel on Road 2 near Golhahr, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A sign for a roadside hotel is seen on Road 2 near Golhahr, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Cars and trucks line up at a gas station as seen from a roadside café on Road 2 between Tehran and Takestan, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A cultivated field with a mountain range in the background, seen from a car on Road 2 between Takestan and Zanjan, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Vendors sell fruit, food and hot beverages along Road 2 next to a billboard depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, right, and his father, slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, near Zanjan, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Gary Player does not begrudge Tiger Woods for using medications to manage the pain from numerous surgeries over the years, but his fellow Masters champion does believe that the 15-time major winner should not be behind the wheel of a car.

Woods was arrested March 27 on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped onto its side along a residential street. Florida authorities determined him to be impaired when they found two painkiller pills in his pocket. Woods also refused to submit to a urine test and was briefly jailed.

"You know," Player said Thursday, “it's very easy — the human being is so critical of everything. If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.

“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation,” Player continued. “Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don't think he should drive a car. When you're taking that medicine, it's dangerous when you're driving a car, same as it's dangerous when you look at your cellphone in a car.”

The 90-year-old Player spoke about Woods after helping to hit the honorary tee shots to start the first round of the Masters.

Known for his fastidious diet and fitness regimen, Player went so far as to admit he no longer drives himself these days.

“So I think all he's got to do is just not drive a car, and get a chauffeur,” Player said. “My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don't drive anymore. I get a chauffer. I think that's the answer to it.”

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, said last week he would be missing the tournament at Augusta National for the second straight year so that he could seek treatment at an undisclosed facility outside of the U.S., and “prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.”

The announcement came hours after he pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge in connection with the crash.

Woods' injury list over the last 14 years is a long one. He had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008, four back surgeries from 2014-17, and he was previously arrested in 2017 for taking what he called a bad mix of painkillers that resulted in him falling asleep behind the wheel of a running car.

Four years ago, Woods’s right leg and ankle were crushed when his speeding SUV ran over a median and toppled down a hillside on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on his Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

“My heart goes out for him,” Player said. “There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.”

Just about everyone at Augusta National this week has expressed sympathy for Woods, but many players — including Jason Day — also agreed with Player that he should not have been behind the wheel of a car.

“He’s just a human being like everyone else, and we have struggles,” Day said. “It’s unfortunate. The only thing that I don’t understand is that it’s a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm’s way, as well.”

Day, a former No. 1, called Woods his “hero," and said the reasons he began playing golf were Woods and the Masters.

“It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him,” Day said. "Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed. It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Oteri)

This handout photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Tiger Woods, in Stuart, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

In this image from police body camera video released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff's Office, golfer Tiger Woods sits in an unmarked police vehicle as he speaks with law enforcement personnel following a car crash in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Gary Player kicks his leg in the air after hitting the ceremonial tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)