A leading ophthalmologist working at a hospital in Tehran has recorded more than 400 cases of eye injuries caused by gunfire, as medical services buckle under the strain of a severe state crackdown on nationwide protests.
Overwhelmed Hospitals and Targeted Injuries
Three separate doctors, in communications passed to the Guardian on Monday, depicted scenes of hospitals and emergency departments inundated with wounded protesters. Medical personnel stated that the gunshot wounds were predominantly focused on the heads and eyes of demonstrators.
This pattern mirrors tactics alleged by human rights organisations during Iran's 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, suggesting a deliberate strategy by authorities.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that the unrest has resulted in more than 2,000 fatalities, over 90% of whom were protesters, and led to the arrest of more than 16,700 individuals.
International Reactions and US Policy Shifts
Former US President Donald Trump directly addressed the situation, urging Iranian citizens to continue their demonstrations. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he stated, "Iranian Patriots, keep protesting – take over your institutions!!! … help is on its way."
In a subsequent interview with CBS News, he commented on the reported executions, saying, "We’ll see how that’s going to work out for them." His remarks are being interpreted as a potential precursor to more direct action against Tehran.
Concurrently, the Trump administration has moved to end Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals residing in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision, giving hundreds of people a two-month window to depart or face deportation.
Trump also declared an intent to revoke citizenship for naturalised immigrants convicted of fraud, a policy linked to unverified claims about welfare fraud in Minnesota. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the move as a "bigoted attack."
Global Climate Crisis Worsens
Separately, scientists have confirmed that 2025 was the third-hottest year ever recorded. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service attributed the "exceptional" temperatures primarily to escalating fossil fuel pollution.
The data reveals that the past three years have seen average surface air temperatures sitting at 1.52°C above pre-industrial levels. Current heating trends could see the world breach the Paris Agreement's critical 1.5°C limit, measured over a 30-year average, before 2030. This is over a decade sooner than projections made when the accord was signed in 2015.
This warming is fuelling more destructive wildfires. A Guardian analysis shows that over the last 24 years, fires have consumed 1.5 million square kilometres of forest globally—an area equivalent to Mongolia. The years 2023 and 2024 saw the highest levels of forest area burned on record.
In other global news, Israel has announced plans to begin construction next month on a bypass road in the occupied West Bank, a move critics say will effectively annex territory crucial for a future Palestinian state. In Thailand, at least 22 people were killed when a crane collapsed onto a passenger train, causing a derailment.
