Hospitals across Iran are struggling to cope with a surge of dead and critically injured protesters as nationwide anti-government demonstrations continue, with medical staff describing scenes of mass casualties, direct gunfire injuries, and morgues pushed beyond capacity.
Medical workers at multiple hospitals told the BBC that patients were arriving with gunshot wounds from live ammunition and pellets, many fatally wounded before doctors could intervene. The protests, which began in Tehran over economic hardship, have now spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all of Iran’s provinces, marking the most extensive unrest since the 2022 uprising triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini.
A hospital worker in Tehran described a collapse of emergency care under the volume of casualties.
“There were direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well,” the medic said, describing injuries treated during the protests. “The number was so large that there wasn’t even time for CPR. Many died as soon as they reached the emergency beds.”
The worker added that the bodies quickly overwhelmed hospital facilities.
“There wasn’t enough space in the morgue. The bodies were placed on top of one another, and when the morgue filled up, they were stacked in the prayer room,” she said, noting that most of the dead appeared to be between 20 and 25 years old.
Gunshot wounds and eye injuries reported nationwide
Doctors in several cities reported similar patterns of injury. A physician in Tehran said the country’s main eye specialist center, Farabi Hospital, had entered crisis mode, suspending non-urgent admissions and surgeries as emergency cases flooded in.
Iran’s security forces are known to deploy shotguns firing pellet cartridges during confrontations with protesters, weapons that can cause severe eye injuries and permanent blindness.
A doctor in Kashan, in central Iran, said many injured protesters had been struck in the eyes.
“I saw one person who had been shot in the eye, with the bullet exiting from the back of his head,” a doctor at a Tehran medical center said, describing a case brought in during overnight unrest. “A group broke the doors and threw a man who had been shot inside, but it was too late. He had already died.”
In the southwestern city of Shiraz, a medic said hospitals lacked sufficient surgeons to handle the influx of wounded patients, as large numbers of injured protesters were brought in simultaneously.
Death toll rises amid internet blackout
BBC Persian has confirmed the identities of at least 26 people killed so far, including six children. Human rights organizations estimate that hundreds more have been killed or injured nationwide, while many thousands have been detained.
At Poursina Hospital in Rasht, in northern Iran, BBC Persian verified that at least 70 bodies were delivered to the hospital in a single night. According to a hospital source, the morgue reached full capacity, forcing authorities to remove the bodies.
The source said families were asked to pay approximately 7 billion rials to retrieve the bodies for burial.
Independent reporting from inside Iran remains severely restricted. The country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday evening, and international news organizations, including the BBC, are unable to operate freely inside the country, making verification difficult.
Iranian authorities have denied responsibility for civilian deaths in some locations. Police said no one was killed in Tehran during one night of unrest, while acknowledging that dozens of buildings were set on fire.
Military deployed as leadership issues warnings
Footage emerging from Iran shows protesters burning vehicles in Tehran and a government building set ablaze in Karaj, near the capital. Iranian authorities have since announced that the army will join security forces in defending public property, citing concerns that police units are overstretched.
Iran’s National Security Council issued coordinated warnings, saying “decisive” legal action would be taken against what it described as “armed vandals.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei struck a defiant tone in a televised address, declaring that the Islamic Republic would not retreat.
“The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this,” Khamenei said. In later remarks broadcast on state television, he said authorities “will not shirk from dealing with destructive elements.”
International reaction intensifies
The violence has prompted sharp international condemnation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe supported the Iranian people and condemned what she called “violent repression” against demonstrators.
United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organization was deeply disturbed by the loss of life.
“People anywhere in the world have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right,” he said.
Leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany issued a joint statement urging Iranian authorities to allow freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.
Washington issues warnings, Tehran blames foreign powers
The United States has escalated its rhetoric. U.S. President Donald Trump warned that killing protesters would trigger a forceful response, while later clarifying that this did not imply deploying ground troops.
“Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before,” Trump said in a social media post. “The USA stands ready to help.”
Iran’s government rejected the warnings, accusing Washington of turning peaceful protests into what it called “violent subversive acts.” Iran’s foreign minister also blamed the United States and Israel for fueling unrest, claims the U.S. State Department dismissed as an attempt to deflect responsibility.
Opposition voices urge caution and persistence
Exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, described the protests as “magnificent” and urged demonstrators to continue.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets,” he said in a social media video. “The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres.”
However, former UK ambassador to Iran Simon Gass cautioned against assuming imminent regime change.
“We really shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves,” he said in a radio interview, noting the absence of a unified opposition inside Iran, while acknowledging that the current unrest represents a broader movement than previous protests driven by economic hardship.
Iranian activist Taghi Rahmani said lasting change must come from within Iran, not through foreign intervention.
The demonstrations are now widely seen as the most significant challenge to Iran’s leadership since the 2022 protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, when more than 550 people were killed and tens of thousands detained, according to human rights groups.
As hospitals struggle, bodies accumulate, and communications remain cut, Iran faces a deepening crisis with no clear end in sight.
