Overview
- A near-total internet and phone shutdown imposed on January 8 has left only fragmentary accounts reaching the outside world.
- Iran Human Rights cites 3,428 verified protester deaths and warns the true toll may be higher, while officials claim only hundreds were killed and label the unrest a terrorist operation.
- Witnesses describe automatic bursts from assault rifles and sounds consistent with heavy machine-gun fire during the January 8–10 peak, with video from Kermanshah capturing repeated gunshots.
- Hospitals report surges of gunshot wounds to the head, eyes, chest, and abdomen, severe shortages of specialists and blood, and unprecedented eye trauma, including 6,000 eye injuries recorded at one Tehran clinic and at least 600 eye removals across major university hospitals.
- Medical staff and witnesses report armed security at hospitals restricting access and detaining patients, prompting many wounded to avoid care, while state media highlights pro-government rallies and mass arrests.