Iran International

At least 16,500 protesters have been killed and about 330,000 injured during Iran’s unrest, according to a report compiled by doctors inside the country and cited by The Sunday Times, as a near-total internet blackout has made independent verification increasingly difficult.

The report, based on information from a network of medical professionals across Iran, said the injuries included widespread gunshot wounds and severe eye trauma, with hundreds to thousands suffering permanent blindness.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that “several thousands” had been killed since protests began three weeks ago, blaming the violence on protesters and foreign enemies.

The doctors’ report said most deaths occurred over two 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 30.

Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, told The Sunday Times the data was gathered through doctors communicating via smuggled Starlink satellite terminals after internet access was cut on January 8.

“This time they are using military-grade weapons,” Parasta was quoted as saying, adding that doctors were seeing gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head, neck and chest. He said at least 700 to 1,000 people had lost an eye.

Figures compiled from eight major eye hospitals and 16 emergency departments cited in the report put the number of injured between 330,000 and 360,000. One Tehran eye hospital, Noor Clinic, documented around 7,000 eye injuries alone, according to the report.

An ophthalmologist quoted by The Sunday Times said the volume of pellet-related eye injuries had overwhelmed hospitals. Another witness cited said more than 800 eye removals were performed in a single night in Tehran.

Medical sources said some patients died due to blood shortages, with one surgeon quoted as saying security forces had at times prevented blood transfusions.

Witnesses who spoke to The Sunday Times described security forces firing live ammunition at protesters, including shots aimed at heads, and deploying snipers on rooftops. Accounts also described the use of Kalashnikov rifles and machineguns mounted on vehicles.