Iran protest footage reveals systematic lethal crackdown by security forces

Security forces in Iran repeatedly fired live ammunition and metal pellets at unarmed protesters, often aiming at their heads and torsos, as part of a nationwide crackdown that left thousands dead, according to verified video evidence.

The shocking footage, gathered from at least 10 cities, including Tehran, shows armed forces chasing fleeing demonstrators and shooting directly at them as they attempted to escape to safety.

Dozens of people are seen suffering catastrophic injuries, including fatal gunshot wounds to the head and eyes, in scenes described by witnesses as systematic rather than isolated.

The material, analysed by Amnesty International, includes dozens of videos and photographs recorded since 8 January, alongside eyewitness accounts from civilians, medical workers and journalists, all describing a "coordinated nationwide escalation in the security forces' unlawful use of lethal force".

The forces identified as responsible include units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including members of its Basij battalions, as well as Iran's police forces and plainclothes agents.

According to the findings, security forces "repeatedly fired rifles and shotguns loaded with metal pellets, targeting unarmed protesters frequently in their heads and torsos".

Multiple videos also show security forces chasing and firing directly at fleeing protesters, clearly identifiable as being unarmed.

The audiovisual evidence featured in the findings by Amnesty is incredibly graphic. Dozens of people are shown with severe injuries, some fatal, including gunshot wounds to the head and eyes.

Eyewitness accounts describe the widespread use of live ammunition, shotguns loaded with metal pellets, tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons and beatings to disperse demonstrations.

Footage that emerged earlier in the week from makeshift morgues in the Tehran area has sparked particular outrage.

Verified videos show medical facilities overwhelmed as families search desperately for missing relatives among dozens of body bags stacked on top of one another.

Among the numerous eyewitness accounts Amnesty shared, one individual described the scene from Kahrizak, south of Tehran, upon arriving at the autopsy hall of a morgue: "There was one room that was so full of bodies the door would not even open… Another room contained the women’s bodies." 

At least 205 distinct body bags were identified from that particular morgue.

The report comes amid an "unprecedented loss of life during protest dispersals", Amnesty said, with human rights organisations putting the death toll at more than 2,600 people.

At the same time, Iranian state television has aired nearly 100 "confessions" of people denouncing their alleged actions during the protests, "admitting" to having attacked security forces or destroyed property.

Activists, however, say these aired testimonies have been coerced. Human rights organisations have long accused authorities of using psychological and physical torture to force false admissions of guilt, which have the potential to lead to the death penalty.

Trump claimed on Wednesday that the killings in Iran "have now stopped" and that no mass executions would be taking place.

Speaking to Fox News, Iran's foreign minister also denied reports that the government was planning to execute protesters following warnings by human rights organisations that hundreds of protesters could face the death penalty.

But as the internet shutdown enters its seventh day, "among the longest on record" according to monitoring group NetBlocks, the ability of independent media and human rights organisations to conduct in-depth investigations remains near impossible.