Hospitals overwhelmed by high number of patients in Iran, where anti-regime protests continue
Image from protests in Tehran, Friday, January 9, 2026. Credit: MAHSA / Stringershub Inc. / Profimedia
In Iran, where anti-government protests have entered their 14th day, two medical staff at two hospitals told the BBC their health facilities were overwhelmed by the number of injured.
A doctor revealed that an eye hospital in Tehran has entered a state of crisis. In addition, a medical staff from another hospital said that the health facility does not have enough surgeons to cope with the influx of patients.
Iran's protests broke out on December 28 and initially focused on the economy, but have since expanded to include slogans targeting the authorities directly. On Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said authorities would not back down, accusing the protesters of acting on behalf of opposition groups that have left the country and the United States. A prosecutor threatened the death penalty, according to Reuters.
On Friday, thousands of Iranians took to the streets again / Images of bodies in the hallway of a hospital in Iran outraged the protesters
At least 51 protesters, including seven children, and 21 members of the security forces have died since the protests began, according to the US-based non-governmental organization HRANA. More than 2,311 people were arrested, according to the NGO.
International news organizations are banned from reporting from inside Iran, and internet access has been almost completely blocked in the country since Thursday, making it difficult to obtain and verify information.
Large influx of patients in two hospitals
A doctor in Iran, who contacted the BBC via Starlink, said Farabi Hospital, Tehran's main eye center, was in crisis, with emergency services overwhelmed.
According to the doctor, admissions and non-urgent surgeries were suspended and staff were called in to deal with emergencies.
The BBC also obtained a video and audio message on Thursday from a medical worker at a hospital in Shiraz, a city in southwestern Iran. He said that injured people are being brought to the health facility in large numbers and the hospital does not have enough surgeons to cope with the influx. He claimed that many of the victims had bullet wounds to the head and eyes.
