Trump says Iran wants a deal, warns of ‘consequences’ if talks fail

Human rights investigators say evidence indicates Sam Afshari was alive when security forces detained him in the city of Karaj, but was later killed by a gunshot wound to the head consistent with an execution carried out after his arrest.

“The bullet entered through the back of his head and exited through his face," Shahin Milani, IHRDC Executive Director told Iran International.

"The injury he sustained during the protests was not the shot that killed him,” Milani said.

Before leaving to join the protests, Sam sent a final message to his father on Jan 7.

“Dad, don’t tell mom anything. I’m going to fight for my rights. Iran is in danger. Please don’t tell my mother.”

His father, Parviz Afshari, who lives in Germany, would spend days searching for answers after his son disappeared.

According to Milani, testimony gathered from the family indicates that Sam’s initial injury during the protests was not fatal.

Residents living nearby Taleghani Square in Karaj saw that Sam had been wounded and attempted to bring him inside to help. Before they could do so, security forces arrived and dragged him away while he was still alive, according to his father’s account.

"The inhuman repressive forces dragged my son," Parviz told IRHDC in a video recording.

After that, he vanished.

“When his family eventually recovered his body, it was clear he had been shot again,” Milani said.

Where the fatal shooting occurred remains unclear. Sam’s father received conflicting accounts — one suggesting it may have happened at a medical facility and another claiming detainees were shot while being transported. Investigators say those details cannot yet be independently confirmed, but the available evidence indicates he was killed after arrest.

Sam's father described him as an exceptionally talented teenager — a computer science prodigy, a competitive swimming champion and fluent in multiple languages.

Milani said interviewing the father was deeply personal, underscoring how the profile of victims in Iran has changed over time.

“The father is nearly my age,” Milani said. “It forces you to realize that the young people being killed today are children who could have been our own.”

Sam Afshari’s case is part of a broader pattern emerging from Iran’s January crackdown, during which students and minors were among those killed. An Iranian teachers’ union has published the names of roughly 200 students killed during the protests, describing the list as both a record of loss and a demand for accountability.

At least 24 children, including a three-year-old, were killed by direct fire from security forces during Iran’s nationwide protests, according to the HANA Human Rights Organization. The group said it confirmed the identities of the children through on-the-ground research and cross-checking multiple sources.

HANA said the shooting of children was not an isolated incident but part of a systematic pattern, with gunfire in many documented cases directed at vital parts of the body.

For Sam's father - the loss is already painfully clear — a teenager who left home believing he was fighting for his future and never returned.

Sam had been preparing to join him in Germany later this year — a plan that ended before it could begin.

New details from eyewitnesses and medical staff in Iran’s southeastern city of Kerman indicate that security forces opened fire and killed dozens of protesters attempting to reach a statue of slain IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in early January.

Witnesses said the violence unfolded on the evening of January 8 around Azadi Square, where one of the country’s most prominent monuments to Soleimani stood.

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Security forces raided the village of Chenar in Asadabad county, Hamedan province, arresting hundreds of residents after surrounding the area early Monday, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.

The raid began at around 4:30 a.m., involving dozens of armored vehicles as well as several minibuses and vans, sources said. Forces also deployed four DShK heavy machine guns on the rooftops of some homes across the village.

Sources said detained residents were paraded through the city in vehicles fitted with cage bars before being transferred to the Asadabad police station.

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Iranian journalist Kianoush Darvishi was arrested on Monday after being summoned to the prosecutor’s office and was transferred to Tehran Greater Prison, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Sources close to his family said Darvishi is the sole caregiver for his mother, who has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.

Darvishi wrote on X on February 3 that Iran’s cyber police had contacted him and summoned him over stories he posted on social media. He also said the cyber police froze his bank accounts without referring the case to court and solely by sending a letter.

Witnesses said the violence unfolded on the evening of January 8 around Azadi Square, where one of the country’s most prominent monuments to Soleimani stood.

Protests in Kerman had begun days earlier with small, scattered gatherings around the city’s bazaar and residential neighborhoods, residents said. But by late afternoon on January 8, significantly larger crowds, including families, were moving toward the square.

One resident said Azadi Square had gradually become a focal point for protesters in the preceding days, despite the absence of formal calls to gather. Videos reviewed by Iran International show the Soleimani statue set on fire during the unrest.

According to a member of the medical staff at a Kerman treatment center, at least 70 protester deaths were registered in the city’s hospitals. He said the figure included only those formally recorded in medical facilities and did not capture all fatalities.

Iran’s government has not provided city-level breakdowns of protest deaths but leaked documents obtained and reviewed by. Iran International shows up to 36,500 people were killed across the country on those two days.

Witnesses said security forces had deployed in force around Azadi Square before peak gathering hours, blocking roads with vehicles and personnel to prevent crowds from reaching the monument. Protesters instead gathered along surrounding streets, including Jomhouri Boulevard, Khajoo intersection, and Bahmanyar and Esteghlal streets.

One protester said security forces initially used tear gas, pellet fire and warning shots. Drones were visible overhead between roughly 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. By around 8:00 p.m., he said, live ammunition was being fired directly at crowds.

He said some of the heaviest clashes occurred near Khajoo intersection and along Jomhouri Boulevard, where large crowds had formed. Witnesses also reported gunfire from elevated positions on nearby buildings, though this could not be independently verified.

Because of the concentration of hospitals, clinics and medical complexes near Azadi Square, many wounded protesters were able to reach treatment facilities quickly. Medical staff described treating gunshot wounds, severe bleeding and respiratory injuries caused by tear gas exposure.

In the days that followed, security forces detained medical personnel who had assisted protesters, according to a healthcare worker familiar with the arrests. He said at least 10 doctors in Kerman had been detained, though only two—Amir Shafiei and Saman Salari—have been publicly identified.

Witnesses said the scale of the January 8 turnout had been significantly larger than previous protests in the city. Some participants said the presence of families and older residents created a false sense of safety, leading many to underestimate the likelihood of lethal force.

A woman who took part in the protests said clashes continued across multiple neighborhoods late into the night and into the following day. Tear gas and gunfire affected large areas of the city, forcing residents indoors.

She also described the sudden appearance of motorcyclists who vandalized banks and government buildings while security forces present at the scene did not intervene. After the motorcyclists left, she said, security forces moved against protesters. The identities and affiliations of the motorcyclists could not be independently confirmed.

The crackdown was followed by widespread arrests and legal action, according to a lawyer in Kerman familiar with the cases. He said detainees were frequently moved between facilities, making it difficult for families to determine their whereabouts.

The lawyer said at least 30 detainees have been charged with “moharebeh,” or waging war against God, a capital offense under Iranian law. He also reported that approximately 500 detainees had received prison sentences, including medical staff and young protesters, while many others remained in legal limbo.

These figures could not be independently verified.

Families have often been reluctant to publicize arrests or disappearances, he said, citing fear of retaliation and reports of abuse in detention.

Among those whose deaths have been publicly confirmed were Mehdi Khosravi, 24, who was shot on January 8, and Ehsan Jafari, a university student who died weeks later after being wounded during the protests. Other victims included students, teachers and residents from across Kerman province.

The protests in Kerman focused in part on the Soleimani statue, which has become a symbol of state authority in the city where the general is buried.

Residents said many protesters viewed the monument as a representation of the political system itself. Their attempt to topple it was met by a brutal force that turned the surrounding streets into one of the deadliest flashpoints of unrest in the city.

The full death toll in Kerman remains unknown.