Tens of thousands of Iranians have participated in the most significant wave of anti-government demonstrations the country has witnessed since 2009, as a brutal security crackdown inflicts severe casualties, including horrific eye injuries.
Medical Staff Overwhelmed by Deliberate Targeting
An ophthalmologist working at a hospital in Tehran has documented a shocking caseload of more than 400 eye injuries caused by gunshots. Medical professionals describe emergency wings overflowing with wounded protesters, struggling with a critical shortage of blood and supplies. Doctors assert that security forces are intentionally aiming for the head and eyes, a tactic reminiscent of the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
"They are deliberately shooting at the head and the eyes. They want to damage the head and the eyes so they can no longer see," stated one Tehran doctor, who confirmed many patients required eye removal, resulting in permanent blindness. Colleagues reported removing up to 20 pellets from a single protester's body, with weapons including shotguns firing metal pellets and rifles with live ammunition.
Protests Swell Amid Communications Blackout
The unrest, which began on 28 December following a sudden currency devaluation, has rapidly evolved. Nightly, crowds chanting slogans like "death to the dictator"—referencing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—have filled streets across Iran. The scale has alarmed authorities, who imposed a nationwide internet and mobile blackout on Thursday, severing Iran from global communication.
Rights groups accuse the government of exploiting this media blackout to intensify its violent response. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that more than 2,000 people have been killed, over 90% of them demonstrators, and over 16,700 arrested. This death toll, which is expected to rise, already surpasses that of the months-long 2022 protests by a factor of four.
A Hidden War Zone and International Response
Doctors on the ground paint a dire picture, comparing the scenes to a war zone. "We don't have blood, we don't have enough medical supplies. It's like a war zone," one physician said, describing treating the injured in freezing temperatures outside hospitals due to lack of space. Security forces have reportedly entered hospitals to arrest wounded protesters.
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights stated that protesters have been shot in eyes and genitals, with evidence showing the state deliberately targets vital organs to cause systematic mutilation. In contrast, the Iranian government blames protesters and foreign saboteurs for the violence, citing incidents where 135 government-affiliated individuals have been killed.
Despite the ferocious repression, protests continued into a seventeenth day. However, medical staff warn the world is seeing less than "one percent of the reality," with the true death toll vastly underestimated due to the information blackout.
