Iran crackdown left 16,500 dead, 330,000 injured: Report

At least 16,500 protesters have been killed and around 330,000 injured during Iran’s recent unrest, according to a report compiled by doctors inside the country and cited by The Sunday Times, amid a near-total internet blackout that has made independent verification increasingly difficult.
The report, based on data gathered from a network of medical professionals across Iran, said injuries included widespread gunshot wounds and severe eye trauma, with hundreds to thousands believed to have suffered permanent blindness. Figures compiled from eight major eye hospitals and 16 emergency departments placed the number of injured between 330,000 and 360,000.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that “several thousands” had been killed since protests began three weeks ago, blaming the violence on protesters and what he termed foreign enemies.
However, the doctors’ report said most deaths occurred over two consecutive days during what it described as the most violent phase of the crackdown in the Islamic Republic’s 47-year history, with most victims believed to be under the age of 30.
Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, told The Sunday Times that the data was gathered through doctors communicating via smuggled Starlink satellite terminals after Iran’s internet was cut on January 8.
He said doctors were treating gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head, neck and chest, adding that at least 700 to 1,000 people had lost an eye.
According to the report, one Tehran eye hospital alone documented around 7,000 eye injuries.
Medical sources also alleged that some patients died due to blood shortages, with claims that security forces at times prevented blood transfusions.
Witnesses described security personnel firing live ammunition at protesters, including shots aimed at heads, deploying snipers on rooftops, and using Kalashnikov rifles and machineguns mounted on vehicles.
The report said many wounded protesters avoided hospitals for fear of arrest, while some injured patients were allegedly taken from operating theatres by security forces. Witnesses also claimed bodies were removed from streets and transferred to other cities, with families pressured to pay large sums to retrieve remains.
Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign powers, including the United States and Israel. The protests began in late December over economic grievances and spread nationwide. Human rights activists and medical professionals warned that the true toll could be higher, citing fear, secrecy and the ongoing communications blackout.