Death toll in Iran protests could exceed 30,000

In an exclusive report, the American magazine TIME cited two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health, who stated that the scale of the crackdown against protesters on January 18 and 19 was so widespread that 18-wheeler trailers replaced ambulances.

In its report, based on testimony from these two high-ranking officials, TIME revealed statistics that differ vastly from the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

Escalation of Casualties

According to these sources, as many as 30,000 people were reportedly killed in the streets of Iran on January 8 and 9 alone, signaling a dramatic surge in the death toll.

The number of victims killed by Iranian security forces this past Thursday and Friday was so high that state capacity for handling bodies was overwhelmed. Officials indicated that stocks of body bags were exhausted and semi-trucks were used in place of ambulances.

Discrepancies in Data

The internal government toll—previously undisclosed—reportedly far exceeds the figure of 3,117 announced on January 21 by regime "hawks" who report directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (TIME notes that ministries report to the elected president.)

The figure of 30,000 is also significantly higher than the counts maintained by activists who methodically track victims:

HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency): Confirmed 5,459 deaths and is investigating an additional 17,031 cases.
Medical Community Estimates: A discreet tally from hospitals reached 30,304 as of Friday, according to Dr. Amir Parasta, a German-Iranian ophthalmic surgeon.

Dr. Parasta specified that this figure does not include deaths in military hospitals, bodies transported directly to morgues, or deaths in areas not covered by the survey. The Iranian National Security Council indicated that protests took place in approximately 4,000 locations across the country.

Historical Parallels

In another section of the report, epidemiology experts and historians of mass killings compared the situation in Iran in January 2026 to catastrophes of World War II.

The only parallel found in online databases relates to the Holocaust. Near Kyiv, on September 29 and 30, 1941, Nazi death squads shot more than 33,000 Ukrainian Jews in a ravine called Babi Yar.

The Human Cost

Beyond the statistics, TIME covered the human stories of the catastrophe, specifically the life of Sahba Rashtian, a 23-year-old animation artist in Isfahan. Killed by direct gunfire, she has become a symbol of the protests.

Her friends recall her joking: "My name (Sahba) means wine, and I am banned in the Islamic Republic." At her funeral, her father described her as a "martyr on the path to freedom."

Overcoming the Information Blackout

The TIME report emphasizes that despite a total internet blackout imposed by authorities, facts about the killings emerged gradually via Starlink satellite connections.

Despite efforts by the security apparatus to conceal the scale of the massacre, medical staff from various hospitals across the country are speaking out about records that point to a "crime against humanity" of unprecedented proportions.

Source: Euronews, Staff, January 25, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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