VIDEO Massacre in Iran under digital “blackout”: Security forces fire at protesters. Witnesses described “bodies piling up” in hospitals and dramatic scenes on the streets of Tehran
Protests in Iran continued for a 14th night, with Iranian security forces using lethal force against protesters across the country. Images from Tehran and Kahrizak show dozens of bodies in body bags, and witnesses told CNN they saw “bodies piled up” in hospitals. The violence comes as the regime has almost completely cut off internet access, according to Iranian media.
The protests that erupted on December 28, 2025, in response to skyrocketing inflation, spread to more than 100 cities, becoming the biggest challenge to the regime in Tehran in recent years. On Saturday evening, security forces turned on the demonstrators, with initial reports indicating mass casualties, Iran International reports.
Images obtained by Iran International from Kahrizak and eastern Tehran, where Alghadir Hospital is also located, show dozens of bodies stored in body bags or abandoned on foot in industrial hangars. Eyewitnesses told CNN that the violence on the streets of the capital was extremely brutal, with one woman describing scenes of “bodies piled on top of each other” inside a hospital.
As of January 8, 2026, the regime in Tehran has imposed a near-complete digital blackout, a move NetBlocks says is deliberately aimed at censoring video evidence of the massacre. Although the internet is blocked, new footage secretly shot in Tehran's Poonak neighborhood shows huge crowds of people continuing to protest despite the gunfire.
Videos from Mashhad show the northeastern city, considered the holiest in Iran for Shia Muslims, looking like a battlefield after two weeks of protests against the Islamic Republic. pic.twitter.com/hPIMILHyl6
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 11, 2026
A doctor accuses the authorities of shooting pedestrians and bystanders as well
A resident of western Iran, contacted by telephone, said that troops of the Revolutionary Guards of Iran (IRGC) were deployed and opened fire in the area where he is located, writes Reuters.
An Iranian doctor in the northeastern city of Neyshabur told CNN in an audio message that authorities used “military rifles” to kill “at least 30 people” there on Friday. “There were children among them,” the woman said. “A 5-year-old child was shot while in his mother's arms,” she added.
The doctor accused the authorities of shooting pedestrians and bystanders as well. “Hospitals are extremely chaotic and patients are terrified of going in and being identified,” she added. “For this reason, we try to inform people and treat them confidentially in clinics.”
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the arrest of 100 “armed protesters” in the city of Baharestan, near Tehran.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the IRGC – the paramilitary troops – accused “terrorists” of targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two nights. The Revolutionary Guards say several citizens and security personnel have been killed, and public and private property has been set on fire.
Iran's military also issued a statement saying it would “protect national interests, the country's strategic infrastructure and public property,” according to Reuters.
Video footage obtained by Iran International showed huge crowds of people protesting in the Poonak district of northwest Tehran last night.
Videos obtained by Iran International show huge crowds of people protesting in Poonak district in northwestern Tehran. pic.twitter.com/5BmBUOw6e1
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 10, 2026
Trump: “The US is ready to help”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the United States stands with the Iranian people, after President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his threat to attack Iran if its security forces kill protesters.
In a new message posted on Truth Social, Donald Trump said Saturday night that the US is “ready to help” Iranians gain freedom.
“Iran is heading for FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The US is ready to help!!!” wrote the US president on Saturday, as demonstrators took to the streets of Iran for another night.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham also had a message for protesters in Iran Saturday night and said “help is on the way.”
“To the people of Iran: Your long nightmare is coming to an end. Your courage and determination to end oppression has been noted by the President of the United States of America and all who love freedom,” Graham said in a post on the X platform.
“When President Trump says 'Let's make Iran great again' it means that the protesters in Iran must come out victorious against the Ayatollah. This is the clearest signal yet that he, President Trump, understands that Iran will never be great with the Ayatollah and his cronies in charge. To all those who sacrifice themselves in Iran, God bless you. Help is on the way,” the US official added.
