A large mural bearing an anti-US message was displayed on Sunday at Tehran’s Enghelab Square, featuring imagery of a warship and fighter jets set against a stylized American flag.
The mural carried the phrase, “He who sows the wind will reap the storm,” a warning commonly used in official Iranian messaging during periods of heightened tension with the United States.
More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during a nationwide crackdown on protests on January 8 and 9, according to classified government documents and other evidence reviewed by Iran International’s Editorial Board.
The figure, if confirmed, would make the crackdown the deadliest two-day massacre of protesters on record.
Iran International reviewed newly obtained classified reports from Iran’s security agencies, along with field reports and accounts from medical staff, witnesses and families of victims. In a previous statement on January 13, the outlet had reported at least 12,000 deaths.
According to the documents, security forces confronted demonstrators in more than 400 cities and towns, with over 4,000 sites of clashes reported nationwide.
Iran International also reported evidence suggesting that some detainees and wounded protesters were killed without trial.
Images from morgues and hospitals reviewed by the outlet show bodies with gunshot wounds to the head bearing signs of hospitalization, including attached medical tubes and monitoring equipment.
Doctors and nurses who spoke on condition of anonymity said some wounded patients were shot while under medical care.
Interior Ministry documents seen by Iran International showed the death toll rising from at least 27,500 in reports to parliament on January 21 to more than 36,500 in subsequent intelligence reports to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Independent verification remains impossible due to security restrictions and communication limits.
More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during the January 8-9 crackdown on nationwide protests, making it the deadliest two-day protest massacre in history, according to documents reviewed by Iran International's Editorial Board.
Iran International's Editorial Board can confirm the death toll after reviewing newly obtained classified documents, field reports, and accounts from medical staff, witnesses, and victims’ families.
The new information provides a clearer picture of the killing pattern and the scale of a crime that can now be described as the largest and bloodiest massacre of civilians during street protests, over a two-day period, in history.
Iran International has received reports and evidence indicating the extrajudicial execution of a number of detainees in Tehran and other cities. Images released from morgues leave little doubt that some wounded citizens were shot in the head while hospitalized and undergoing medical treatment. It is evident that, had these individuals sustained fatal head wounds on the streets, there would have been no reason to admit them to hospital or begin treatment in the first place.
The images also show that in some cases, medical tubes and patient-monitoring equipment remained attached to the bodies. In other cases, cardiac monitoring electrodes are visible on the chest, suggesting these individuals were under medical care before being shot in the head. A number of doctors and nurses have also told Iran International that so-called “finishing shots” were fired at wounded patients.
In its previous statement on January 13, Iran International’s Editorial Board reported at least 12,000 deaths caused by the crackdown.
That figure was explicitly cited in a report by the IRGC Intelligence Organization submitted to the Supreme National Security Council and the Presidential Office on January 11, two days after the two-day massacre, reviewed by Iran International.
36,500 killed in 400 cities
Our Editorial Board has now obtained more detailed information provided by the IRGC Intelligence Organization to the Supreme National Security Council.
Other state institutions have also received differing figures from other security bodies. However, given the scale of the killings, deliberate concealment, and what appears to be intentional disorder in the registration and transfer of bodies – along with pressure on families and, in some cases, the quiet burial of victims – it appears that even the security agencies themselves do not yet know the precise final death toll.
In a report presented on Wednesday, January 21, to the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee seen by Iran International, the number of those killed was listed as at least 27,500.
According to sources within Iran’s Interior Ministry who spoke to Iran International on condition of anonymity, a consolidation of figures received from provincial security councils by Tuesday, January 20, showed the death toll had exceeded 30,000.
Two informed sources from the Supreme National Security Council also told Iran International that in two recent reports by the IRGC Intelligence Organization, dated January 22 and January 24, the number of those killed was listed as more than 33,000 and more than 36,500 respectively.
Interior Ministry reports say security forces confronted demonstrators in more than 400 cities and towns, with more than 4,000 clash locations reported nationwide.
Despite the confusion and concealment, the rapid increase in death toll figures in classified government reports has heightened concerns that the actual number of those killed may be even higher.
Due to communication restrictions and security pressure, independent verification remains impossible. However, based on credible information from hospital sources and eyewitnesses, the number of deaths in several major cities is described as shocking.
Conservative assessments by medical sources, based on the number of bodies delivered to hospitals and medical centers, estimate more than 2,500 killed in Rasht, at least 1,800 in Mashhad, more than 2,000 in Isfahan, Najafabad, and Khorasgan, at least 3,000 in Karaj, Shahriar, and Andisheh, 700 in Kermanshah, and 400 in Gorgan.
No clear aggregate figure has yet been obtained for Tehran. However, images released from Kahrizak morgue and hospitals across the capital indicate that thousands were killed in Tehran, with a significant proportion of the deaths occurring in southern Tehran.
Horrifying details of a historic crime
1 - Three doctors and four nurses in Tehran who spoke to Iran International said security forces entered hospitals and took away some wounded patients who were undergoing treatment. Images received by Iran International, along with videos circulating on social media, also show that some bodies with gunshot wounds to the head bear clear signs of hospitalization.
Two other nurses told Iran International that after a wounded young man was transferred to an ambulance in a clash area in western Tehran, a security agent suddenly entered the vehicle and, in front of them, killed him by firing two consecutive shots. The nurses said the man had been severely beaten before being moved and was semi-conscious. A trusted specialist physician at a Tehran hospital confirmed their account.
There are also reports that individuals were detained at home and that their families were later told to go to Kahrizak to collect their bodies. Other reports say security forces went to homes and drew people to the door – including under the pretext of delivering a package – before shooting and killing them.
These deeply alarming reports have in recent days been published by families or provided to Iran International by credible eyewitnesses.
If confirmed through independent investigation, the accounts would amount to clear cases of extrajudicial killing and, if found to be widespread, could be examined under the rubric of crimes against humanity.
The withholding of detainee numbers, the unknown locations of detention sites, and the lack of clarity over prisoners’ access to medical care and legal representation have heightened concerns among human rights activists.
A prominent lawyer inside Iran, who requested anonymity, described the situation as an “international human rights crisis.” He said, “Unofficial reports indicate that tens of thousands have been arrested, and the IRGC or whichever security body has custody of them can kill as many as it wants, send their bodies to Kahrizak or other morgues, and claim they were killed on the streets.”
2 - The organized killings across Iran indicate the brutal crackdown was carried out with the agreement and cooperation of state institutions and on the orders of the highest authorities of the Islamic Republic.
According to information received by Iran International, following a speech by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on January 9, phrases such as “al-nasr bil-ru‘b” (victory through terror) and “fight them until there is no sedition” were used in briefings and discussions among senior IRGC commanders. The same phrases also appeared on January 9 in Telegram channels affiliated to hardliners.
3 - Numerous reports and other evidence indicate that in many cities, bereaved families were forced to pay large sums described as “bullet fees” in exchange for receiving the bodies of their loved ones. In some cases, despite families’ objections, those killed were presented as members of the Basij militia.
4 - While most of the killings were carried out by IRGC and Basij forces, reports received by Iran International indicate that proxy forces from Iraq and Syria were also used in the crackdown. The deployment of non-local forces suggests a decision to expand repression capacity as quickly as possible.
Should Iran International obtain further information, it will inform its audience in subsequent statements.
Call for submission of evidence
Iran International once again calls on all compatriots inside and outside the country to send any documents, videos, photographs, audio testimonies, information about those killed or wounded, medical centers, locations of clashes, timing and geography of events, and any verifiable details related to the events of the past weeks.
The security of sources and confidentiality of information are our highest priorities. If you are concerned about your safety, do not send identifying information and provide only general, verifiable details.
Following verification and careful assessment, Iran International will publish its findings and share them with all relevant international bodies and institutions.
The truth will be recorded and documented. The names of the victims will be preserved. This crime will not be buried in silence.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported on Sunday that Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown has continued for about 400 hours, leaving connectivity stuck near 1 percent of normal levels.
NetBlocks’ data showed access plunged around Jan. 9 and has stayed largely cut off since, indicating a sustained and deliberate restriction on online communications.
Former Iran national football team captain Mehdi Mahdavikia said, “no injustice will last” and that the blood of the protesters would not go unanswered.
Mahdavikia posted an image showing a shocked woman standing over the bodies in the Kahrizak Forensic Center, saying, “The image speaks for itself. If someone’s heart does not ache, they have no honor and humanity.”
He urged people to imagine the pain of families searching for missing loved ones.
“Just put yourself in the place of parents who are searching for their beloved children. Curse the one who caused it,” Mahdavikia wrote, offering condolences to those mourning.
Exiled Queen Farah Pahlavi issued a message mourning Iranians killed for freedom, urging solidarity with the victims.
In the statement, Pahlavi said the deaths had left “a profound wound on the soul of Iran” and called for the need “to embrace solidarity and humanity” more than ever.
She offered condolences to bereaved families and said she shared their grief.
"We shall continue to keep the memory of all the martyrs of freedom for Iran alive by upholding truth, justice and human dignity. Light will prevail over darkness,” she wrote.