Iranian security forces are deliberately firing at protesters’ heads to cause them debilitating injuries, local doctors have claimed, citing wounds inflicted on hundreds of patients they have treated.
Over 400 eye wounds from gunshots have been documented at a Tehran hospital by an ophthalmologist working there, according to the Guardian.
The British newspaper reported Tuesday that it received three messages from doctors about conditions in hospitals, which they say have been overwhelmed by demonstrators with gunshot wounds — most of them to the eyes and head.
Security forces have been seen using shotguns to fire metal pellets at protesters, as well as rifles with more lethal ammunition, according to the report.
“[Security forces] are deliberately shooting at the head and the eyes. They want to damage the head and the eyes so they can no longer see, the same thing they did in [2022],” one of the doctors was quoted as saying, referring to anti-government protests at the time.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
According to the doctor, many of the injured had to have their eyes removed and were blinded as a result.
“Eyes were hit by birdshot pellets, and it was deliberate; they are shooting to kill,” he said.
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The demonstrations across Iran began in late December over an economic crisis, but have come to include mass calls for the fall of the regime.
A wave of injured people arriving for treatment, which spiked after Iran cut off internet access last Thursday, has left hospitals looking “like a war zone,” the doctor said.
“It’s like in the war movies where you see the injured soldiers getting treated on the open field,” he said. “We don’t have blood, we don’t have enough medical supplies.”
Security forces occasionally enter the medical centers to arrest injured protesters, he said.
Another doctor described treating injured protesters outside in the grounds of the hospital despite freezing temperatures, as there was no space left in the wards.
In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights also accused Iranian authorities of seeking to intimidate protesters with mutilating injuries to the face and genitals.
“The evidence demonstrates that even when utilizing ‘less-lethal’ weapons, the Islamic Republic deliberately targets vital organs, transforming these tools into instruments of systematic mutilation and permanent disability to terrorize protesters,” a spokesperson said in the Guardian report.
Doctors who contacted the newspaper said they suspect the official death toll from Iranian authorities of around 2,000 was far below the actual number of people killed across the country. Estimates from opposition rights groups outside Iran have been much higher.
The report cited a Tehran protester who said he was at a nonviolent rally and saw plainclothes security forces mingle with the crowds and then begin shooting people at short range in the back of the head.
Multiple unverified videos posted to social media purport to show volleys of gunfire at rallies in various locations around Iran, often with people seen being hit and falling to the ground.
Other videos show scores of bodies collected in locations, some in body bags.
A doctor who treated injured protesters in Iran but has since left the country similarly told the US-based opposition group the Center for Human Rights in Iran that the toll is much higher than is being reported.
“The images and data broadcast by the international media do not represent even one percent of the reality, because the information simply does not reach them,” said the doctor, who spoke with the CHRI in an interview published Monday.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran’s capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
The doctor also reported that authorities were arresting injured protesters in hospitals.
“If someone came in with a gunshot wound, security forces would collect their first and last name, national ID number, and any information they could, to follow up later,” he said.
The Iran International news site, which is based in the UK and is critical of the Islamic Republic, has claimed at least 12,000 people have been killed in recent days — far beyond any other report. The site claimed this is the estimate used internally by Iran’s own security authorities.
Iran has blamed “America and the Zionist regime,” referring to Israel, for the protests. The US has threatened military intervention against the regime, but has also backed the demonstrations as an organic opposition movement and said it favors diplomacy. Israel has similarly endorsed the protests, but otherwise kept a low profile amid the unrest while warning of a possible attack by Iran.
Is accurate Israel coverage important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day during the past two years of war and rising global anti-Zionism and antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So we have an ask for this new year of 2026: express your values by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this