As many as 30,000 people may have been killed across Iran in just two days during mass protests on January 8 and 9, according to two senior officials from the country’s Ministry of Health, as reported by TIME. If confirmed, the figures would mark one of the deadliest episodes of state violence in recent history.
Health ministry figures far exceed official toll
The internal death toll, not previously made public, sharply contradicts the official figure of 3,117 deaths announced on January 21 by authorities reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Health Ministry, which reports to the elected president, allegedly recorded a far higher number, with officials stating that the scale of deaths overwhelmed the system’s ability to manage bodies, exhausting supplies of body bags and forcing the use of large trucks instead of ambulances.
Independent verification of the figures remains impossible due to severe restrictions on access and communication.
Doctors and activists cite similar numbers
The two-day estimate broadly aligns with hospital-based counts compiled by doctors and first responders. Dr Amir Parasta, a Germany-based Iranian doctor, said hospital records indicated over 30,300 deaths by January 10, excluding military hospitals and remote areas. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Activists News Agency has confirmed 5,459 deaths and is investigating over 17,000 additional cases.
Experts on mass violence say even these numbers may be conservative.
Protests spread nationwide amid blackout
Protests reportedly erupted in nearly 4,000 locations across Iran, driven initially by economic distress and later by calls for the fall of the Islamic regime. Witnesses described millions on the streets before authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout. Eyewitness accounts and limited footage suggest the use of live ammunition, rooftop snipers and heavy weapons by security forces.
Human cost behind the numbers
Among the victims was Sahba Rashtian, a 23-year-old aspiring animation artist from Isfahan, who died after being shot during the protests. Friends described her burial as heavily restricted, with her father calling her a “martyr on the path to freedom”.
The reports have intensified global concern over the humanitarian and political crisis unfolding in Iran.