A new report citing doctors working on the ground in Iran has claimed that at least 16,500 protesters have been killed and nearly 3,30,000 injured during the Iranian government&rsquo;s crackdown on weeks of nationwide demonstrations that began over economic grievances and escalated into calls for regime change.
The figures emerged as Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the first time since the unrest began, publicly acknowledged the scale of the violence, stating on Saturday that the protests resulted in &ldquo;several thousand&rdquo; deaths.
Addressing the unrest, Khamenei accused the United States of instigating the protests, alleging that US President Donald Trump openly encouraged demonstrators and offered military support. He described Trump as a criminal and claimed the protesters were acting as instruments of foreign powers.
Doctors across Iran documented widespread use of military-grade weapons against civilians. The report estimates that between 16,500 and 18,000 people were killed and 330,000 to 360,000 injured, including children and pregnant women. Most victims are believed to be under the age of 30.
Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, said hospitals are treating severe gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head, neck and chest. He said the scale and nature of injuries point to systematic and excessive force by security agencies.
Medical data collected from eight major eye hospitals and 16 emergency departments indicates that between 700 and 1,000 people have lost an eye. One hospital in Tehran alone reportedly treated nearly 7,000 eye injury cases.
The report also highlighted deaths caused by shortages of blood supplies. In several hospitals, doctors and staff donated their own blood to save patients, while in some instances, security forces allegedly blocked blood transfusions.
In contrast, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has verified 3,090 deaths so far, including 2,885 protesters, along with more than 22,000 arrests, underscoring the difficulty of independently confirming figures amid restrictions.
Professor Parasta described the situation as a &ldquo;genocide under digital darkness,&rdquo; alleging that authorities vowed to continue killings until the protests stopped.
Doctors reportedly communicated with international media using Elon Musk&rsquo;s Starlink satellite internet service, which has helped bypass state-imposed internet shutdowns. SpaceX recently made the service free for users in Iran, turning the company into a key player in the country&rsquo;s information battle.
For weeks, Iran faced widespread internet blackouts that restricted communication, limited access to the outside world and obscured the full extent of the crackdown on protesters.

Doctors cite mass casualties as Khamenei admits thousands died in crackdown

Iran Protests: Report Claims 16,500 Killed

Doctors cite mass casualties as Khamenei admits thousands died in crackdown

January 18, 2026 | 06:41 IST