‘Haven’t seen such catastrophe even in earthquakes’: Doctor reveals horrors of Iranian crackdown on protesters
The Iranian regime has unleashed a brutal crackdown in the past few days, in which some reports say anywhere between 6,000 and 12,000 protesters have been killed.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP) Screenshot
The ongoing protests in Iran, which are in their third week, are shaping up to be the largest uprisings in the country’s history since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The protests, which began in late December, have since spread to over 180 cities across all 31 provinces.
Government crackdown on protesters
The Iranian regime has unleashed a brutal crackdown in the past few days, in which some reports say anywhere between 6,000 and 12,000 protesters have been killed.
Internet services have been suspended across Iran since Friday, 9th January, resulting in an information vacuum.
Photos and videos posted on social media by exiled activists and human rights groups have shown hospitals and morgues being overrun by the sheer number of bodies piling up there.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran’s capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (Photo: AP)
‘Worse than earthquakes’
A doctor who spoke to IranWire described the scene at public and private hospitals in Tehran and Isfahan during the nights of January 8 and 9 as something that he has only seen in movies.
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“I have been a doctor in various hospitals since the 2009 Green Movement. I did not see this level of catastrophe even during the devastating earthquakes in Bam or Kermanshah. There were sounds of gunfire, rapid bursts, and even heavy machine guns. We had only seen this in movies, never in real life,” the doctor, whose name has not been revealed, told IranWire.
‘Emergency rooms were full’
According to the doctor, every operating rooms were full, and they were forced to priorities those who had a chance to survive.
“It was packed. I had to make impossible choices. I looked at one person and said, ‘He’s taking his last breaths; he won’t make it to surgery, don’t spend time on him.’ To the next, whose bullet had exited through his back: ‘Prep him for surgery; we might save him.’ To the third: ‘He can last three or four hours; wait until then.’ There were so many… so many,” he said.
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.(AP Photo)
Citing witness statements by colleagues, he also claimed that many of the protesters were shot in the head at point-blank range, rendering their faces unrecognisable.
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The doctor also described the horrifying scenes on the streets on Sunday, the day after the two-day crackdown.
“There was a liter of blood spilled. A trail of blood led right to my front door. I thought to myself, ‘This person is certainly dead,’” he said.
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This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP) Screenshot 
