Disturbing testimonies from medical professionals across Iran have raised grave concerns over the scale of violence during the recent state crackdown on protests, with doctors alleging that the true death toll may run into tens of thousands — far exceeding official figures.
According to accounts shared with The Guardian, an Iranian doctor, identified as Dr Ahmadi (name withheld due to fear of reprisals), described treating a surge of injured protesters outside the formal hospital system after many avoided government hospitals, fearing arrest. Initially, patients presented with minor injuries from batons and pellet guns. Within a day, however, the injuries escalated to close-range gunshot wounds and severe stab injuries, many of them fatal.
Doctors form secret network amid internet blackout
With the internet largely shut down, Ahmadi coordinated a covert network of more than 80 medical professionals across 12 provinces to document injuries and deaths. Based on hospital baselines, morgue data and graveyard testimonies, the doctors believe that officially recorded deaths may represent less than 10 per cent of the actual toll.
While Iranian authorities have acknowledged over 3,000 deaths, independent rights groups estimate figures ranging from 22,000 to over 30,000. Doctors interviewed said they were reluctant to provide an exact number but agreed that public figures significantly understate the scale of killings.
Bodies allegedly concealed, mass burials feared
Medical staff and witnesses described bodies being transported in refrigerated trucks normally used for ice cream or meat, overwhelmed morgues turning vehicles away, and hurried burials allegedly ordered to conceal numbers. In several cases, bodies reportedly disappeared from forensic facilities.
Witnesses at major graveyards, including Behesht-e Sakineh near Karaj, described seeing hundreds of bodies stacked, some not sealed in body bags, and staff being pressured to conduct mass burials.
Signs of systematic killings
Doctors said injury patterns pointed to deliberate targeting, including gunshot wounds to the head, eyes and chest. Some bodies arrived at morgues still attached to medical equipment, suggesting deaths occurred while patients were under treatment — raising fears of executions.
Medical professionals warned that the true number of victims may never be known due to what they described as a coordinated effort to suppress evidence, discourage hospital visits and obscure causes of death.