France looks at sending Eutelsat terminals to Iran after internet blackout

Witnesses said security personnel entered medical centers, removed injured protesters for undisclosed locations and fired “finishing shots” at some of those left behind, describing scenes of bodies and wounded being loaded onto trucks without separation. Iran International could not independently verify the accounts.

Residents said the city fell into an uneasy calm on Monday after clashes on Thursday and Friday followed by two days of resistance by protesters over the weekend. Motorbike units and pickup trucks carrying security forces patrolled streets, while access to hospitals was heavily restricted, witnesses said.

A taxi driver who said he witnessed the violence near Gohardasht square on Thursday said security personnel loaded both dead and wounded protesters onto trucks. “The injured were not separated from the dead,” he said, adding that many were young people.

Families gathered outside hospitals including Kasra and Qassem Soleimani, where armed personnel blocked entrances and dispersed crowds, witnesses said.

At Behesht-e Sakineh cemetery, mourners reported restrictions on burials and said authorities halted the release of bodies to prevent public funerals.

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  Security forces blocked blood donations, seized wounded protesters - paper

Similar pressure on medical facilities was reported elsewhere.

In the northeastern city of Bojnourd, a nurse told Iran International that a local hospital had become heavily securitized, with normal shift schedules canceled and staff pressured to prioritize treatment for injured security personnel while protesters were turned away or left untreated.

Rights groups and media have reported security force raids on hospitals in other parts of Iran during the unrest, including incidents in the western city of Ilam.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Wednesday he had urged France to support the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization by the European Union.

"For decades, the IRGC has worked to spread terror and instability in the Middle East and beyond," Sa'ar wrote on X. "Today, it is leading a deadly repression against the Iranian people, who are fighting for their freedom."

He said listing the group would be both a moral and effective step and would send a clear message to Iranians: "We hear your voice. You are not alone."

A placard displayed at a state-organized event in Tehran on Wednesday threatened US President Donald Trump, saying that a future shooting would not miss.

The placard was shown at a gathering organized by Iranian authorities to honor security personnel killed in protests.

Trump has warned Iran’s leadership not to use force against protesters, saying that if demonstrators were shot, he would respond in kind. He has also urged Iranians to continue protesting, saying that help was on the way.

The US president was wounded in the ear during a shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024. US authorities said the attack was carried out by a lone gunman.

Sweden’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest deadly violence against peaceful demonstrators and widespread arbitrary detentions.

"The Iranian people's right to express their opinions and to demonstrate must be respected," Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on X on Wednesday, calling for internet access in Iran to be restored.

Plainclothes security forces and members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have targeted the homes of families of people killed in recent protests in eastern Tehran, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

The sources said the forces carried out intimidating raids, including firing shots, hurling insults and ransacking homes.

They added that families were instructed to collect the bodies of those killed during pre-dawn hours and to conduct burials quickly and privately, or face the risk of collective burials.

The sources also said families were told they would be charged fees related to the use of live ammunition.