Tear gas burning his eyes, his voice hoarse from shouting anti-government slogans as cars honked around him, Majid joined crowds of Iranians taking to the streets in defiance of a crackdown on a swelling protest movement.

He used a pseudonym for security reasons and, like all those who spoke about the protests, was reached by AFP journalists outside Iran.

Majid described how he rallied with hundreds of others in the streets of eastern Mashhad on Wednesday night, even as police tried to disperse the crowd that nonetheless kept reforming.

“Police are targeting people with pellets, tear gas and shotguns,” Majid said.

“At first, people dispersed, but they gathered again,” rallying in the streets until the early hours of the morning.

“We know that if we go out there, we might not survive, but we are going and we will go out there to have a better future,” he said.

The demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over the rising cost of living and a currency nosedive have spread nationwide, their numbers — and death toll — growing.

Protesters filled the streets of the capital Tehran and other cities on Thursday night, despite a crackdown leaving dozens killed by security, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

Local media and official statements have reported at least 21 people, including security forces, killed since the unrest began, according to an AFP tally. Iran Human Rights has put the death toll at........

© The Times of Israel