Iran’s anti government protests have intensified into one of the most serious challenges to the country’s leadership in years, with demonstrators and medical workers describing a brutal crackdown that has left hospitals overwhelmed and families rushing to bury the dead. Rights groups say dozens have been killed and thousands arrested as unrest spreads nationwide despite an ongoing internet blackout.
The US based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Saturday that at least 78 protesters have been killed in the past 14 days, bringing the total death toll linked to the demonstrations to at least 116 people, including 38 members of the security forces. The group said at least seven of those killed were under the age of 18 and that 2,638 people had been detained. HRANA reported protests at 574 locations across 185 cities in all 31 provinces since demonstrations began on December 28. CNN said it could not independently verify the figures.
Iranian authorities have acknowledged unrest while urging calm. Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni admitted “some shortcomings” but told state television that a “better economic future” awaits Iranians. The head of the Iranian Army, Amir Hatami, called on citizens to “remain vigilant” and appealed for unity to prevent what he described as hostile interference.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has continued to post on social media despite the blackout, dismissing protesters as “a bunch of people bent on destruction” and criticizing President Donald Trump. Trump, meanwhile, reiterated Friday that the United States could intervene if Iranian security forces use lethal violence against civilians. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Washington supports the Iranian people.
On the ground, witnesses describe scenes of chaos and fear. Several protesters in Tehran told CNN that security forces opened fire Friday night using military rifles, killing “many people.” A woman in her mid 60s said she later saw “bodies piled up on each other” inside a hospital. A 70 year old man who also witnessed the violence said people of all ages had filled the streets before the crackdown turned deadly.
Medical workers across the country reported harrowing conditions. In Shiraz, staff treated a woman shot in the head. “I have never seen such scenes in my life,” one medical worker said in a video shared with IranWire. A doctor in Neyshabur said security forces fired on protesters from rooftops, hitting a family of six and killing an elderly woman’s nurse. In Najafabad, hospital staff said families rushed to collect the bodies of their children and buried them without traditional rites.
Doctors say hospitals are struggling to cope. Mohammad Lesanpezeshki, a Chicago based physician educated in Tehran, told CNN that friends working in Iranian emergency rooms described dozens of patients shot in their limbs. He said Farabi Eye Hospital in Tehran saw roughly 200 to 300 patients with pellets lodged in their eyes.
Protesters also described acts of extreme brutality. An Iranian social worker who attended a demonstration in Tehran said authorities fired “bullets, who knows, tear gas, whatever you can think of.” She said she saw a young woman shocked in the neck with an electric device until she lost consciousness and confirmed that her co worker’s son was among those killed.
Despite the violence, demonstrators say momentum is building. One Tehran resident said the internet shutdown has backfired, pushing more people into the streets. “People of all ages men, women and children participate,” he said, describing chants from windows and nighttime gatherings. Another protester called the scenes “unbelievably beautiful and hopeful” before the crackdown intensified after Khamenei’s televised speech.
The protests began over soaring inflation in Tehran’s bazaars but have since evolved into broader anti regime demonstrations across more than 100 cities. Even as unrest grows, residents say prices for basic goods such as eggs and milk continue to climb, deepening public anger and uncertainty over what comes next.
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