A doctor in Iran has described being interrogated by a regime spy while treating protesters wounded during the deadly crackdown in January. The physician, identified only as Amir, said a man posing as a patient entered his private clinic near Tehran and questioned him about his shifts on the nights of January 8 and 9, when security forces used live ammunition against demonstrators.
Amir estimated that between 120 and 150 people with gunshot wounds were treated at his clinic during that period, and that 30 died. He also reported that security forces fired teargas and shot at the clinic entrance repeatedly over the two nights. A network of doctors inside Iran estimates the national death toll could exceed 30,000, far higher than the official figure of 3,117.
The regime has been tracking protesters using advanced surveillance technology imported from China and Russia, including facial recognition tools. A radiologist in Iran noted that many injured people avoided hospitals out of fear, with at least one person dying at home. Meanwhile, independent lawyers have been prevented from representing the estimated 42,000 arrestees, and at least one lawyer has died in police custody.
In a separate development, US President Donald Trump announced on February 19 that he would decide within 10 days whether to strike Iran, raising international tensions further.
