Security forces kill 19-year-old during protests in southwest Iran

Security forces opened fire during burials for slain protesters in at least two Iranian cities amid nationwide demonstrations, local sources told Iran International, in messages received on Wednesday.

In Abdanan, in Ilam province in western Iran, local sources said security forces attacked people after burial ceremonies and fired metal hunting pellets at mourners, leaving at least 100 people injured and around 50 blinded.

In Jahrom, in Fars province in southern Iran, local sources said security forces fired live ammunition and metal pellets during burial-related gatherings on January 8 and 9, killing at least 14 people and blinding 18 others.

Medical facilities in several Iranian cities are facing shortages of body bags as the number of people killed in nationwide protests rises, witnesses told Iran International, describing a heavy security presence at hospitals and morgues.

In messages received from inside Iran on Wednesday, sources said the shortage has led to the accumulation of protesters’ bodies in hospital halls and morgues, while security forces have intervened in the process of handing over the remains.

They said hospital entrances are being tightly controlled, medical staff and families are under pressure, and the registration of information related to the dead has been restricted, in an apparent effort to prevent the true number of those killed from becoming public.

In Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province in western Iran, local sources said around 200 to 250 bodies remained at Ashayer Hospital, with no capacity for proper handling or orderly release.

In Arak, in central Iran’s Markazi province, and in Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province in northeastern Iran, they said the number of those killed exceeded morgue capacity, resulting in delays and restrictions on transferring bodies.

Local sources said similar conditions were being seen in other cities, adding that the measures appeared aimed at concealing the scale of the killings and limiting the flow of information about protest casualties.

An Iranian who called Iran International's phone-in program said he saw young men speaking Arabic arriving in Tehran neighborhoods during protest nights, some appearing unfamiliar with the city.

Parsa said he noticed them carrying suitcases and asking for directions before being picked up by taxis.

“They did not know where they were going,” he said.

He said the significance of what he saw only became clearer later, referring to the presence of Iran-aligned militia forces in the crackdown.

“Now we are starting to understand what that may have meant,” Parsa said.

An Iranian man calling from Tehran told Iran International that anger and resolve have replaced fear, as rooftop chants continue despite killings and mass arrests.

Amir said the dominant emotion he sees around him is not despair. “We are more angry than sad, and more determined than afraid,” he said.

He described the process families face when identifying the dead as particularly harrowing.

“They had to examine dozens of bodies before finding their own,” Amir said.

An Iranian man calling from Kerman told Iran International that protesters continued to return to the streets despite injuries during protests earlier this month, and described what he said were unusually harsh chemical agents used by security forces.

Kambiz said that during the protests, he met a 16-year-old girl who had been wounded the night before but still returned to the streets.

“She said she had been hit with pellets from the waist down and came back again the next night,” he said.

He also described symptoms he experienced after exposure to tear gas.

“It smelled different, and my skin felt burned,” Kambiz said.