Hospitals are overwhelmed by mass protests in Iran, doctors say

More than 50 people have died in protests in Iran Doctors at two different hospitals in Iran told the BBC that the places they work are overwhelmed with injuries, amid mass protests in the country in recent weeks. A doctor said that an eye hospital in Tehran is in a crisis situation. The paramedic at another hospital said there are not enough doctors to deal with the large number of patients. On Friday (7/1), US President Donald Trump said Iran was in “big trouble” and warned: “You better not start shooting, because we will start shooting too.” In a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran blamed the US for turning the protests into what it called “violent subversive acts and widespread vandalism”. International leaders have already called for the Iranian people’s right to peaceful protest to be protected. Anti-government protests have taken place in dozens of cities across Iran, with two human rights groups reporting that at least 50 protesters have been killed. Protesters set fire to cars and buildings on the streets of Tehran, Iran, in demonstrations against Ali Khamenei’s government in January 2026. Social media via Reuters The BBC and most other international news organizations are banned from working inside Iran. The country has been under a near-total internet shutdown since Thursday night (8/1), making it difficult to obtain and verify information. An Iranian doctor, who contacted the BBC via Starlink satellite internet on Friday night (9/1), said that Farabi Hospital, Tehran’s main specialist ophthalmology center, is in crisis, with emergency services overwhelmed. Non-urgent hospitalizations and surgeries would have been suspended, and the team was called in to deal with emergency cases. The BBC also obtained a video and audio message from a doctor at a hospital in the southwestern city of Shiraz on Thursday. The doctor said a large number of injured people were being taken to the hospital, and there were not enough doctors to deal with the influx of patients. He said many of the injured have gunshot wounds to the head and eyes. Protesters march in the center of Tehran, Iran, against the country’s economic situation, on December 29, 2025 Fars via AP Reactions in Iran and around the world Since the protests began on December 28, at least 50 protesters and 15 members of the security forces have been killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA). More than 2,311 people were also arrested, the group said. The Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said at least 51 protesters, including nine children, were killed. BBC Persian (the BBC’s news service in Persian) spoke to the families of 22 of them and confirmed their identities. Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said the UN was deeply shaken by the loss of life. “People anywhere in the world have the right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right and ensure it is respected,” he said. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz released a joint statement that said: “The Iranian authorities have a responsibility to protect their own population and must allow freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei struck a defiant tone in a televised speech on Friday, stating: “The Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people and will not back down in the face of those who deny it.” Later, in remarks delivered to a crowd of supporters and broadcast on state television, Khamenei reiterated the message, saying Iran “will not shy away from dealing with destructive elements.” Iran’s UN ambassador accused the US of “interfering in Iran’s internal affairs through threats, incitement and deliberate encouragement of instability and violence” in a letter to the UN Security Council. In contrast, Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, described Friday’s protests as “magnificent” and urged Iranians to hold more protests over the weekend. “Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to take and maintain control of city centers,” Pahlavi, who lives in the US, said in a video message on social media. Pahlavi, one of the best-known opposition figures, said he was preparing to return to the country, saying he was confident the protests would lead the Islamic Republic “to ruin.” Former British ambassador to Iran Simon Gass told the BBC that “we really shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves” in discussing regime change. He said the lack of an organized opposition within Iran means the people have no leader who would present an alternative to the current regime. He added, however, that these protests are different from previous ones seen in the country, which are bringing “a much broader movement of protesters than we used to see in the past”, triggered by ordinary people who find it “almost impossible to survive because of the disaster in the economy”. US President Donald Trump in a speech to US House Republicans Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Trump warning On Friday, at the White House, Trump said his administration was closely monitoring the situation in Iran. “It seems to me that people are taking control of certain cities that no one thought possible just a few weeks ago,” he said. He reiterated previous warnings given to the Iranian leadership, saying: “We will hit them very hard where it hurts.” He added that any US involvement does not mean “troops on Iranian soil.” On Thursday, Trump said he would “hit them very hard” if they “started killing people.” Later on Friday, the US said Iran’s foreign minister was “delusional” after accusing Israel and Washington of fueling the protests. “This statement reflects a delusional attempt to divert attention from the enormous challenges facing the Iranian regime domestically,” a US State Department spokesperson said in response to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s comments during a visit to Lebanon. Early Saturday morning, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on Facebook: “The US stands with the brave people of Iran.” However, Iranian security and judicial authorities issued a series of coordinated warnings to protesters on Friday, toughening their rhetoric and echoing an earlier “no mercy” message from Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council (CSSN). Iran’s National Security Council said “decisive and necessary legal measures will be taken” against the protesters, whom it described as “armed vandals” and “disturbers of peace and security.” The intelligence arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it will not tolerate what it described as “terrorist acts”, assuring that it will continue its operations “until the complete defeat of the enemy’s plan”. Additional reporting by Soroush Negahdari

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