Medical professionals across Iran have reported that the death toll from the recent crackdown on protests may be far higher than official figures, with some estimates suggesting more than 30,000 people have been killed. The claims are based on testimony from doctors, morgue workers and graveyard staff, who describe a systematic effort by authorities to conceal the true scale of the violence.
One doctor, identified only as Dr Ahmadi for fear of reprisals, told the Guardian that he and his wife treated wounded protesters at a secret location outside the government hospital system. Initially, injuries were minor, but as the protests escalated, they saw close-range gunshot wounds and severe stab wounds to the chest, eyes and genitals. Ahmadi said more than 40 people were killed in his small town alone.
Ahmadi assembled a network of over 80 medical professionals across 12 provinces to share data. They estimate that officially registered deaths represent less than 10% of the real number, suggesting a total of more than 30,000. The Iranian government has acknowledged over 3,000 deaths, while HRANA, a US-based activist group, has verified over 6,000 and is investigating a further 17,000 cases.
Witnesses describe bodies being transported in ice-cream vans and meat trucks, with mass burials carried out to hide the number of dead. At one morgue, staff said two trucks loaded with bodies were moved elsewhere, but no forensic facility in the region received them, raising suspicions of mass burial.
Doctors described the brutality as without limit. One Tehran-based medic said: 'I am on the verge of a psychological collapse. They’ve mass murdered people. No one can imagine … I saw just blood, blood and blood.'
