BBC Verify has been tracking the spread of anti-government demonstrations across Iran since they erupted in late December. However, a near-total internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities has made it extremely difficult to document the full scale of the state’s response and the number of people killed.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people, including 5,633 protesters, since unrest began at the end of December. The group says it is also investigating reports of a further 17,000 deaths, received despite an internet shutdown that has lasted almost three weeks.
Another rights organisation, Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Norway, has warned that the final death toll could exceed 25,000.
Iranian authorities acknowledged last week that more than 3,100 people had been killed, but said the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders attacked by what they described as “rioters”.
The latest videos are believed to have been filmed on 8 and 9 January, when thousands of people took to the streets following a call for nationwide protests by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah. Those days are thought to have been the deadliest so far for protesters.
Footage analysed by BBC Verify and BBC Persian shows bodies stacked inside a mortuary at Tehranpars Hospital, in east Tehran. The location was verified by matching the hospital’s interior with publicly available images and videos. At least 31 bodies were counted in a single clip. Another video shows seven body bags laid outside the hospital entrance.
In a separate video, hundreds of protesters are seen gathered on a highway in west Tehran before multiple rounds of gunfire are heard and people begin to scream and flee.
Other footage shows protesters attempting to disrupt Iran’s extensive surveillance network by disabling CCTV cameras. In one verified clip, a person is seen climbing a pole and repeatedly striking a surveillance camera as a large crowd cheers below.
BBC Verify has tracked protests in 71 towns and cities across Iran, though the true number of locations where demonstrations have taken place is likely far higher.
In the south-eastern city of Kerman, a video filmed from a high-rise building shows several armed men in military uniform walking along a road while firing their weapons continuously. It is unclear who they are shooting at. Protest chants can be heard in the background, and a small fire is visible burning in the middle of the road.
Snipers have also been recorded on rooftops. In the north-eastern city of Mashhad, verified footage shows two men dressed in black on top of a building in daylight. One stands next to a large rifle leaning against a wall while speaking on the phone; the other crouches nearby, smoking.
Since 8 January, most of Iran has experienced an almost total internet blackout. Some individuals have managed brief access using methods such as SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service and virtual private networks (VPNs).
More videos are expected to emerge in the coming days as economic pressure mounts and information continues to leak out despite restrictions imposed by the authorities.
