FLASH
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Iranian protesters are facing their deadliest days yet as security forces carry out mass killings and executions in a sweeping crackdown that some have called "genocide," new reports say.
According to The Sunday Times, a report compiled by doctors based in the region and reviewed by this media outlet, estimates that security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000 others.
The report also described the violence as a "complete massacre," warning that the true death toll could be even higher due to limited access to hospitals and the almost total shutdown of communications.
The report says most of the victims are believed to be under the age of 30, underscoring the high toll on Iran's younger generation as the regime intensifies its efforts to suppress dissent.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, acknowledged on Sunday that "several thousand" people have been killed since the protests erupted on December 28.
In a televised speech, he blamed the demonstrators, calling them "US foot soldiers" and falsely claiming that the protesters were armed with imported ammunition.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that as of the 22nd day of protests, verified figures show 3,919 people killed, with another 8,949 deaths under investigation, 2,109 seriously injured, and 24,669 detained.
HRANA noted that the true number of victims is likely much higher due to the internet outage.
Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, said in The Sunday Times report that doctors across Iran are "shocked and crying," despite having experience in treating war injuries.
"This is a whole new level of brutality," Parasta said. He added that the Starlink terminals smuggled into Iran have been the only means of communication since authorities cut off internet access on January 8.
Eyewitnesses who fled Iran also described snipers targeting protesters' heads, mass shootings, and systematic blinding using pellet guns.
A former Iranian resident said in the report that doctors reported more than 800 eye removals in a single night in the capital alone, with perhaps more than 8,000 people blinded across the country.
"This is genocide under the cover of digital darkness," Parasta said.
In addition to street killings, executions have increased significantly, according to Ali Safavi, a senior official in the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Safavi told Fox News Digital that 2,200 people were executed in 2025, while another 153 were hanged in the first 18 days of January 2026, marking an average of more than eight executions per day.
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