This is the shocking moment an Iranian woman is dragged across the street and beaten as the crowd cheers because she was dancing and not wearing a hijab.

The woman can be seen standing in the central reservation of a busy road as she is jeered by men in the city of Rasht, on Iran's Caspian Sea coast.

A crowd appear to be in a stand-off with the woman before a few men approach her, with one grabbing her around the head and forcing her to the ground.

He then takes hold of her ankles and brutally drags her over the tarmac, prompting a massive cheer from the crowd of men.

The woman can be seen in a confrontation with the crowd of men as she stands in the central reservation of a busy street in the city of Rasht, Iran

A group approaches her and a loud holler goes up from a crowd of men as the woman is savagely dragged over the tarmac

After she is released she gets to her feet and goes towards her attacker you knocks her onto her backside with a hit to the face.

According to Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad she was set upon because her head was uncovered and she was dancing.

The victim can be heard shrieking throughout the footage as men laugh in the background.

The video then cuts to her having been released and walking away, though clearly still traumatised by what has just gone on.

The Islamic dress code, in place since the 1979 revolution, considers veiling obligatory for any female above 13 in Iran and says they should cover themselves from head to toe while disavowing any figure-hugging dress.

Breaking the rules can result in fines of up to 500,000 rials (£17) and up to two months in prison.

One of the men bundles her to the ground before taking her by the ankles and dragging her across the ground

Men can be seen trying to talk to the woman before the violence breaks out

President Hassan Rouhani, who came to power in 2013 promising a more moderate stance, has previously said it is not the job of police to enforce religious rules such as those forcing women to cover their hair.

But in April 2016, officials said there were 7,000 undercover morality police reporting on things like 'bad hijab' - a blanket term usually referring to un-Islamic dress by women.

Figures are rarely given, but Tehran's traffic police said in late 2015 they had dealt with 40,000 cases of bad hijab in cars, where women often let their headscarves drop around their necks.

These cases generally led to fines and a temporary impounding of the vehicle.