* Doctors cite higher death tolls

Ziggy Ojiegbe

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Iranian authorities have acknowledged that more than 5,000 people were killed during recent protests across the country, while doctors and independent reports claim the actual death toll may be more than three times higher.

A senior Iranian official said on Sunday that authorities had verified at least 5,000 deaths linked to the unrest, including about 500 members of the security forces. The official blamed “terrorists and armed rioters” for the killings, saying many victims were “innocent Iranians.”

Some of the fiercest clashes and the highest number of casualties occurred in Iran’s Kurdish regions in the northwest, where separatist groups have been active and where previous periods of unrest have also turned violent, according to a Reuters’ report.

“The final toll is not expected to increase sharply,” the official said, adding that “Israel and armed groups abroad” had supported and equipped protesters. Iranian authorities have consistently blamed domestic unrest on foreign enemies, including Israel, which carried out military strikes on Iran in June.

Independent human rights groups have reported significantly lower official figures but say the true scale of casualties remains unclear. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Saturday that it had confirmed 3,308 deaths, with a further 4,382 cases still under investigation. HRANA also reported more than 24,000 arrests linked to the protests.

The Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw, based in Norway, has similarly said that Kurdish areas in the northwest experienced some of the heaviest fighting following the outbreak of protests in late December.

However, unverified accounts from within Iran suggest a far higher death toll. According to reports from doctors on the ground cited by the Sunday Times, at least 16,500 protesters are believed to have been killed, with an estimated 330,000 injured. The doctors said most of the deaths and injuries occurred during the early stages of the protests, particularly around January 8 and 9, when authorities imposed a widespread digital blackout.

The majority of those killed are believed to be under the age of 50. Social media posts shared within Iran have mourned the deaths of a young fashion designer, three footballers, a champion basketball player, and a film director, among others.

The doctors reportedly shared their testimony with the Sunday Times using smuggled Starlink satellite terminals, allowing them to bypass government restrictions on internet access.

“This is a whole new level of brutality,” said Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, who previously treated protesters injured during the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom demonstrations.

“Back then, they were using rubber bullets and pellet guns, taking out eyes,” he said. “This time they are using military-grade weapons, and what we are seeing are gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head, neck, and chest.”