'I was hit in the face by pellets': Iranians on border describe violence and more protestsand violence during blackout

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.

Metres 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.