Iran | Widespread Killing of Protesters in Isfahan: “They Opened Fire on Everyone, Even Passers-by, Children, and Shopkeepers”

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 12 February 2026: Isfahan province was the scene of one of the bloodiest crackdowns on anti-government protests in recent years during January 2026. Testimonies from eyewitnesses and medical sources, as well as accounts received by IHRNGO, indicate that government forces used live ammunition extensively against protesters and other civilians on 8 and 9 January 2026. The accounts describe large numbers of those killed and injured in at least 16 cities and one village across the province, raids on hospitals, the rapid transfer of bodies, and pressure placed on families of those killed. 

Five eyewitnesses and three medical sources shared their observations from 8 and 9 January with IHRNGO, describing what they referred to as a “widespread killing of protesters”.

Reports of the crackdown have emerged from various areas of Isfahan province, including the cities of Isfahan, Najaf-Abad, Shahin Shahr, Shahreza, Falavarjan, Fuladshahr, Golpayegan, Lenjan, Homayoun Shahr, Yazdanshahr, Bagh-e Bahadoran, Baharestan, Chermahin, Khomeini Shahr (Sedeh), Daran, Zarrin Shahr, and the village of Jooy-Abad.

Direct Fire with Live Ammunition Against Civilians

Multiple eyewitnesses reported direct fire with automatic and military-grade weapons in several cities across the province.

A resident of Yazdanshahr stated that protests began on 2 January 2026 with “large numbers of people in the streets”. Following widespread arrests of young people and teenagers, “parents also came out into the streets”. He said the crackdown on Friday, 9 January, was so severe that “by Saturday morning, there was a body behind nearly every car. Security forces opened fire with automatic weapons. They showed no mercy — not even to people watching from rooftops, pedestrians or shopkeepers. Bullet marks are visible on doors and walls across the city. Yazdanshahr now looks like Khorramshahr after the war.”

According to this witness, security forces used heavy weapons and made no distinction between protesters and others: “Anyone who was outside was shot. In some families, more than one member was killed.”

Another witness described the situation in Baharestan and Shahin Shahr: “In Baharestan, between 300 and 350 people were killed, and in Shahin Shahr at least 600. The protesters were unarmed, but the officers were heavily armed and fired at old and young, women and men. They even fired final shots at the wounded and the dead.”

They added that many of those killed were teenagers and young people under 24, and that security forces also shot at individuals attempting to assist the injured.

A resident of central Isfahan reported that at least eight people were killed in the Se-Rah Simin area. The witness described extensive bullet damage to buildings: “The walls and doors are covered with bullet marks — like images from Abadan and Khorramshahr after the war. They sprayed bullets at people; anyone in the street was shot — passers-by, bystanders and protesters alike.”

An eyewitness from Khomeini Shahr, who has since left Iran, told IHRNGO that demonstrations began in the Varnosfadran neighbourhood and Meydan-e Asar Khaneh before moving towards the governor’s office. According to him, security forces initially used pellet rounds and tear gas. When protesters reached the governor’s office, they warned that they would use live ammunition and then began firing live rounds from inside the building and surrounding structures.

They further reported that on 9 and 10 January, security forces fired “blindly and without warning” at people: “On the second day, they again shot indiscriminately in front of the governor’s office. I saw bullets strike people in the head and body. On the third day, people said we would not approach the governor’s office to avoid further deaths, but at the very start of the gathering in Meydan-e Asar Khaneh, two cars and a motorcycle with plainclothes agents arrived and opened fire with live ammunition without warning. One bullet struck Amir Naddafi, 32, in the leg and killed him. They drove away, then returned and shot people from behind. Afterwards, they went to the Khouzan neighbourhood and repeated the same actions.”

The witness named Amir Naddafi (32), Mohammad Jafarpour (23) and Hamid Shahin (40) among those killed in Khomeini Shahr. Photographs of two of them have been received by IHRNGO. They stressed that the actual number of those killed in Khomeini Shahr is higher than the cases identified by name.

Accounts from Medical Sources: Casualty Figures and Hospital Conditions

A medical staff member in Isfahan, who requested anonymity, told IHRNGO that weapons such as “DShK heavy machine guns and Kalashnikov rifles” were used during the crackdown on 8 and 9 January. According to this source, approximately 20% of those killed were under the age of 19.

Based on information gathered, the source provided the following estimates of those killed in several cities: Najafabad: 70–140; Daran: 30–50; Lenjan and Khomeini Shahr: 50–70 each; Shahreza: 40–60; Shahin Shahr and the city of Isfahan: more than 5,000.

The same source stated that more than 2,000 deaths were recorded in just five main hospitals in Isfahan during those two days. The reported figures, for some hospitals, were: Al-Zahra Hospital: 400–500; Kashani Hospital: 200–400; Goldis: 60; Asgariyeh: 40–50; and Gharazi: 50–60.

Previously, two other independent sources told IHRNGO that at least 1,600 deaths had been registered at the Isfahan branch of the Legal Medicine Organisation during the same period.

IHRNGO emphasises that the exact number of those killed in the January 2026 protests remains unclear. The figures cited in this report are based on witness testimony and are still subject to independent verification.

Medical sources also reported that security forces raided the Milad, Saadi, Sepahan, Sina and Gharazi hospitals, as well as the homes of several doctors, and confiscated more than 500 medical files relating to injured protesters. According to these sources, several doctors were threatened, summoned or arrested.

Another medical source told IHRNGO: “What happened on 8 and 9 January was a war crime. Groups of girls were brought in who had been shot in the genital area. There were many close-range shots to the head and face. In one hour, we carried out 110 eye enucleation surgeries. Many of those killed were medical workers who had gone to help. The hospitals were full of plainclothes agents.”

Regarding detained injured protesters, political prisoner Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, held in Isfahan Central Prison, said in a message from prison: “Recent detainees who were wounded by bullets and shrapnel are being held in warehouses without treatment.” He added that “many have been separated and labelled as mohareb.” Under Iranian law, individuals accused of moharebeh (enmity against God) face severe sentences, including the death penalty.

Accumulation of Bodies at Bagh-e Rezvan Cemetery and Reports of Mass Burials

At least three eyewitnesses who went to Bagh-e Rezvan, the largest cemetery in Isfahan, to identify relatives reported the accumulation of large numbers of bodies in storage halls. According to them, bodies were stacked on top of each other, and families were forced to move them in order to identify their loved ones. Some witnesses said severe facial injuries caused by gunfire made identification difficult. They added that many families received the bodies of teenagers aged between 10 and 16.

Another witness said: “The board displaying the names of those killed was updated every two hours, each time adding 50 to 60 new names.”

A medical source told IHRNGO that bodies were transported using bulldozers, containers and pickup trucks belonging to a refinery workers’ cooperative, and that “even a water canal near Bozorgmehr was filled with bodies and used for mass burial.”

Pressure on Families for the Return of Bodies

According to witness testimonies and conversations with families, in Isfahan province — as in other parts of Iran — in some cases families were required to pay large sums, reportedly up to several hundred million tomans (roughly several thousands USD), in order to receive the bodies of their relatives. Burials were often conducted at night under security supervision.

A medical source in Isfahan told IHRNGO: “Bodies were quickly transferred to the municipal morgue. For their return, sums in the billions of tomans (1.5 billion or more, about $10,000) were demanded, and families were required to agree to night-time and silent burials.”

Another witness reported that 500 million tomans (about $ 3,300) were demanded in exchange for the return of some bodies in the Se-Rah Simin area, while in other cases families were told the body had “gone missing”.

Based on information obtained through interviews with eyewitnesses and families of some of those killed in the January 2026 protests in different parts of Iran, Iran Human Rights confirms that in certain cases families were required to pay money in order to receive the bodies of their relatives.

As of the time of writing, IHRNGO continues to investigate and independently verify the reported figures and allegations contained in this report.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, February 12, 2026

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