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Amid an escalating government crackdown, Iran has issued a stern warning that it will retaliate in the event of a U.S. attack. Reports from BBC sources and human rights activists indicate a grim toll, with hundreds of protesters allegedly killed.
“Things here are very, very bad,” a source in Tehran conveyed on Sunday. “A lot of our friends have been killed. They were firing live rounds. It’s like a war zone, the streets are full of blood. They’re taking away bodies in trucks.”
Footage obtained by the BBC from near Tehran reportedly showed approximately 180 body bags. According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), it has verified the deaths of 495 protesters and 48 security personnel nationwide.
HRANA also reports that an estimated 10,600 individuals have been detained over the two weeks of unrest.
The U.S. has threatened potential action against Iran in response to the reported killings of protesters. President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the U.S. “stands ready to help” as Iran “is looking at FREEDOM.”
President Trump did not specify the nature of potential U.S. involvement. However, an official told CBS, the BBC’s U.S. news partner, that he has been briefed on options for military strikes against Iran.
According to officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, alternative approaches under consideration include bolstering online support for anti-government sources, employing cyber-weapons against Iran’s military, and imposing additional sanctions.
In response, Iran’s parliament speaker cautioned that any U.S. attack would render both Israel and U.S. military and shipping assets in the region legitimate targets.
The protests, initially sparked by soaring inflation, have evolved into calls for the dismantling of the clerical rule under Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s attorney general has declared that any protester will be considered an “enemy of God,” an offense punishable by death. Khamenei has dismissed the demonstrators as a “bunch of vandals” seeking to “please” President Trump.
On Sunday, the Iranian government announced three days of mourning for what it termed “martyrs killed in Iranian national battle against the US and Israel.”
Staff at several hospitals have reported to the BBC that they are overwhelmed by the influx of deceased and injured protesters in recent days.
BBC Persian has verified that 70 bodies were brought to one hospital in the city of Rasht on Friday night. A health worker at a Tehran hospital stated: “Around 38 people died. Many as soon as they reached the emergency beds… direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well. Many of them didn’t even make it to the hospital.”
The BBC, along with most other international news organizations, is unable to report from within Iran, and the Iranian government has imposed an internet shutdown since Thursday, making it difficult to obtain and verify information.
Despite these restrictions, some footage has emerged, including video showing rows of body bags at the Forensic Diagnostic and Laboratory Center of Tehran Province, in Kahrizak.
One video from the site depicts approximately 180 shrouded or wrapped figures, the majority lying in the open. Distress and cries can be heard from individuals who appear to be searching for their loved ones.
Several videos confirmed as recent by BBC Verify depict clashes between protesters and security forces in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.
Masked protesters are shown taking cover behind bins and bonfires, with a line of security forces positioned in the distance. A vehicle, appearing to be a bus, is engulfed in flames.
Multiple gunshots can be heard, along with sounds resembling banging on pots and pans.
A figure standing on a nearby footbridge appears to fire multiple gunshots in various directions as several individuals take cover behind a fence.
In Tehran, verified video from Saturday night depicts protesters taking to the streets in the Gisha district, the sound of banging on pots in Punak Square, and a crowd marching and calling for the end of clerical rule in the Heravi district.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed the U.S. and Israel for the unrest.
“They have trained certain individuals inside the country and abroad, brought terrorists into the country from outside, set mosques on fire, and attacked markets and guilds in Rasht, setting the bazaar ablaze,” he stated, without providing supporting evidence.
However, authenticated footage from BBC Persian and BBC Verify confirms that Iranian security officers have been firing at gatherings of protesters in multiple areas, including Tehran, the western Kermanshah province, and the southern Bushehr region.
Verified videos filmed in the center of the western city of Ilam last weekend also show security forces firing shots toward Imam Khomeini Hospital, where protesters were holding a rally.
Internet access within Iran is largely limited to a domestic intranet, with restricted connections to the outside world. However, during the current protests, authorities have implemented severe restrictions on even this limited access for the first time.
An expert told BBC Persian the shutdown is more severe than during the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising in 2022.
Alireza Manafi, an internet researcher, stated that the only likely means of connecting to the outside world is via Starlink satellite, but cautioned users to exercise caution as such connections could potentially be traced by the government.
On Sunday, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who resides in the U.S. and whose return protesters have been advocating for, told demonstrators in a social media post that President Trump had “carefully observed your indescribable bravery.”
“Your compatriots around the world are proudly shouting your voice,” he wrote, pledging: “I know that I will soon be by your side.”
Mr. Pahlavi claimed that the Islamic Republic was facing a “severe shortage of mercenaries” and that “many armed and security forces have left their workplaces or disobeyed orders to suppress the people.” The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.
He encouraged people to continue protesting on Sunday evening, but to remain in groups or with crowds and not “endanger your lives.”
In the UK, videos shared on social media appear to show protesters removing Iran’s flag from a balcony on its London embassy on both Saturday and Sunday.
According to Iranian state media, Iran has summoned the UK ambassador in Tehran following these incidents.
The protests are the most widespread since the 2022 uprising triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
Human rights groups estimate that more than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months during that unrest.
Additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad and Roja Assadi
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