Aircraft used for Iran leaders’ transport destroyed at Mehrabad

The sources, based in Tehran, requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

The nurses were among medical staff at Tehran’s Rajaei Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center who treated people injured during the massive protests that erupted in late December and spread into early January, drawing millions into the streets and prompting a crackdown that led to mass arrests and at least 36,500 deaths.

Sexual torture and severe injuries

One of the nurses, a 33-year-old woman, was repeatedly abused and raped during detention, according to informed sources who spoke with Iran International.

Sources said agents subjected her to various forms of sexual torture.

In addition to assaulting her with their fingers, agents raped her in groups of two or three over consecutive days.

They also raped her by inserting a foreign object into her anus, causing severe bleeding, the sources said.

In another form of torture, agents took her along with dozens of other detained women to an elevated place and then pushed them all into a small pit-like space, the sources said.

The injuries inflicted on the nurse were so severe that doctors had to remove part of her intestine, and she now lives with a colostomy bag, one source said.

Her uterus also suffered severe tearing and she has so far undergone two surgeries. Doctors may ultimately be forced to remove her uterus completely, the source added.

Before she was transferred to the operating room, the nurse repeatedly asked doctors not to allow her to survive and said that if she came out of surgery alive, she would take her own life, the source said.

According to an eyewitness, her psychological condition is so severe that her hands are currently tied to the hospital bed to prevent her from harming herself while she remains under the supervision of security forces.

The second nurse who was subject to gang rape in custody, according to witnesses.

Part of her intestine was severely damaged, and she has also been fitted with a colostomy bag, the witnesses said.

Due to severe bleeding, doctors removed her uterus completely.

Sources said the family of one of the nurses was forced to pay significant sums of money to an intelligence officer to secure her release.

According to the sources, a document was then prepared stating that the woman had entered into a temporary marriage with one of the agents, a step described as intended to create the conditions for her release.

She was also required to sign a pledge stating that after her release she would declare that she had been abused and raped by “rioters,” the sources said.

Hospital crackdown during protests

The hospital, located in the Vali-Asr area of Tehran, faced a wave of wounded people late on the evening of Jan. 8.

From around 9 p.m. onward, large numbers of individuals injured by live ammunition were transferred to the hospital.

Agents involved in the crackdown on protesters told hospital staff not to provide medical treatment to the wounded, according to sources.

Among the 27 personnel and nurses present in the ward that night, 14 refused the order and attempted to treat the injured.

Sources said two male nurses among them were arrested after protesting the situation and expressing sympathy with the wounded.

Among the 14 members of the medical staff who resisted the order, only seven female nurses were able to continue providing emergency care for several hours.

According to information received by Iran International, these seven nurses continued treating the wounded until around 11 p.m. to midnight.

Security forces later entered the hospital and fired at some of the wounded patients.

When nurses and hospital staff protested the shooting, they were beaten and transferred to the lower floor of the hospital and into a storage area.

Witnesses said that among the seven nurses, two were shot and killed in front of the others.

Staff were warned not to touch the bodies, and the corpses were left where they lay.

According to information received by Iran International, the families of the two nurses found their bodies several days later in Kahrizak.

Five other female nurses were arrested and transferred to detention, and their families had no information about their situation for weeks.

International concern over sexual violence against detainees

Human rights groups have warned that detainees arrested during the protests face a high risk of torture and sexual violence.

Amnesty International said thousands of people detained in connection with the nationwide unrest were at risk of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, including sexual violence.

The United Nations has also expressed concern about Iran’s violent crackdown on the protests and the treatment of detainees, including reports of torture and sexual violence.

Sara Hossain, chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran established by the UN Human Rights Council, said the mission had gathered evidence pointing to serious human rights violations committed by Iranian authorities.

“The information we have gathered points to severe human rights violations, including unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, resulting in arbitrary killings, torture, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and forced confessions,” Hossain said in remarks to the Human Rights Council in late January.

Previous reports and investigations by Iran International have also documented allegations of sexual violence against detainees during protest crackdowns in Iran.

Other allegations of sexual violence against detainees have also emerged during the same wave of nationwide protests

Last month, Iran International reported that female protesters detained during the protests on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 were raped and sexually assaulted while in custody.

Two teenage girls, aged 15 and 17, who were arrested during protests on January 8, were raped by on duty soldiers at a detention facility, local sources told Iran International.

In a separate account, sources detailed the experience of a young woman and another 17-year-old teenager.

According to the sources, the two were held in an informal detention center which they both described as belonging to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Sources said the victims were raped by individuals at the site during their detention.

According to sources, the severity of the trauma has led some of these victims to attempt suicide.

Another year-long investigation by Iran International found systematic and widespread use of sexual violence by security forces against detained protesters during the 2022 uprising, sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini.

In exclusive interviews conducted for the investigation, six protesters aged between 19 and 43 said they were raped or sexually abused shortly after their detention, including inside police vehicles, at covert locations and in detention centers.

Sexual abuses committed by Iranian security forces were not isolated incidents, but rather part of a widespread, systematic strategy to stifle dissent, as evidenced by numerous testimonies provided to Iran International.

While sexual abuse indiscriminately targeted women of all ages, testimonies also unveiled that authorities employed sexual violence as a calculated tactic to suppress and intimidate male protesters.

The Iranian authorities’ use of physical and sexual violence to suppress dissent is a longstanding tactic, dating back to the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

The mother of Iran women’s national football captain Zahra Ghanbari has been threatened by Iranian security bodies, including the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit, according to information received by Iran International.

Sources said members of the women’s national team currently in Kuala Lumpur relayed the information to Ghanbari after learning about the pressure on her family.

Ghanbari is the all-time top scorer for Iran’s women’s national team and sought asylum in Australia last week.

The report also said another staff member, Zahra Soltan Moshkeh-Kar had passed on threatening messages from Iran’s football federation leadership to players who had sought asylum, while a third player was reportedly pressured to return after receiving emotional voice messages from family members in Iran.

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  Iran pressuring women footballers who defected in Australia to return

More than 60 bulldozers belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that were intended to rebuild missile storage sites were destroyed in Israeli strikes, a source in the Israeli Air Force told Iran International.

The heavy equipment, the source said, was being prepared to repair and restore missile facilities damaged in recent attacks.

IRGC personnel responsible for launching missiles are expected to return to the sites in an attempt to resume operations, according to the source.

“Members of the Revolutionary Guards who are responsible for firing missiles will return to these locations and will try to launch missiles.”

Asked whether Israeli forces would target personnel returning to the facilities, the source said the Israeli Air Force would continue striking individuals it considers a threat to Israel.

Sources said Zahra Meshkinkar, a member of the team’s technical staff, has been relaying messages from Iran's football authorities to players in an effort to convince them to abandon asylum plans and return home.

The effort comes after several members of the Iranian delegation sought protection abroad during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

The team’s equipment manager, known as “Flor,” and player Mohaddeseh Zolfi were among the latest members of the delegation to apply for asylum, following five other players who had already taken similar steps.

The remaining members of the squad later traveled to Malaysia, where they are currently staying while officials consider possible routes for their return to Iran amid the US-Israeli airstrikes.

Semi-official news agency ISNA on Saturday posted an image of players Mona Hamoudi and Zahra Sarbali as well as the coaching staffer Zahra Meshkin-Kar apparently minutes before traveling to Malaysia to join their team members.

"These three, after withdrawing their asylum request in Australia, will join the rest of the national team players tonight," the report said.

Sources previously told Iran International that players have been kept under tight supervision at their hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Journalists and outside visitors have been barred from entering, and several players have had their mobile phones confiscated. Others were allowed to keep their phones only under the supervision of security personnel linked to the Iranian Football Federation.

Pressure on the players began before the team left Iran and continued during the tournament and afterward. Mohammad Rahman Salari, a member of the football federation’s board, has played a central role in enforcing restrictions and repeatedly collecting and inspecting the phones of players and staff.

Fatemeh Bodaghi, traveling with the delegation as the team’s manager, has also been described by sources as monitoring players’ social media activity and reporting developments to officials in Tehran. Zeinab Hosseinzadeh, the team’s physiotherapist, has also been cited as among those exerting pressure on players.

The crisis surrounding the team began earlier in the tournament when the players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before their opening match against South Korea. The silent protest occurred shortly after the escalation of conflict involving Iran and the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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  Iran women’s football team kept under tight security in Kuala Lumpur

State media quickly labeled the act as “wartime treason,” and officials warned the players they could face serious consequences if they refused to return to Iran.

The Iranian judiciary also issued a statement urging the athletes to return to the country “for the sake of their families,” a warning widely interpreted as indirect pressure on the players through their relatives.

Farideh Shojaei, the vice president for women’s affairs at the Iranian Football Federation, is also accompanying the delegation. She previously said officials were exploring possible routes for the team’s return to Iran amid ongoing US-Israeli airstrikes, including the possibility of traveling overland through Turkey after attempts to fly through the United Arab Emirates failed.

The developments have drawn international attention and concern from human rights groups, which warned that the players could face punishment if forced to return to Iran after their protest during the tournament.

Ali Asghar Hejazi, deputy chief of staff to the former Supreme Leader, and Alireza Arafi, a member of the Guardian Council and a member of Interim Leadership Council are among clerics who have raised concerns about Mojtaba Khamenei’s health and managerial capacity, sources told Iran International.

They are pushing for authority at the top of the Islamic Republic to return to a temporary leadership council.

Hejazi and Arafi are also among influential clerics who have criticized the growing power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the increasing dominance of its commanders over government decision-making during the war.

Divisions between political officials and ruling clerics on one side and Revolutionary Guards commanders on the other have deepened following the killing of Iran’s former leader, particularly after Mojtaba Khamenei was introduced as the new head of the Islamic Republic.