Iranian doctor accuses Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of executing injured protesters inside hospital wards in Tehran during nationwide unrest

An Iranian doctor has made deeply disturbing allegations about what has been happening inside hospitals during the country’s recent wave of unrest.

Speaking anonymously and identified only as Dr R, the medic claims wounded protesters were executed while lying in hospital beds — some still attached to ventilators and medical tubes — after being shot in the head.

According to Dr R, these were not people arriving at hospital already dead. They were patients who had been admitted, assessed and connected to life-support equipment.

“If someone had already been shot in the head and was dead on arrival,” the doctor reportedly explained, “you wouldn’t intubate them or attach catheters. That only happens if they’re alive.”

The implication is stark — that armed forces allegedly entered medical facilities and killed injured patients where they lay.

The images shared alongside these claims — bodies in black bags, visible head wounds, blood on sheets, medical lines still in place — have not been independently verified. But they have added fuel to already widespread fears about how dissent has been handled.

Allegations Against the Revolutionary Guard

Dr R accuses members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of targeting protesters who had sought medical help after being injured during demonstrations in Tehran and other cities.

The claims do not stop at killings. The doctor alleges that medical staff suspected of treating injured demonstrators were arrested. Some, they say, have faced torture or even death sentences on accusations such as espionage or “aiding the enemy.”

Hospitals, which under international humanitarian law are supposed to be neutral safe zones, are described instead as heavily monitored spaces.

Staff are reportedly expected to report injuries thought to be protest-related. Some say they have been followed home after shifts to ensure they do not secretly treat wounded civilians outside official facilities.

If proven, such actions would represent grave violations of medical neutrality — a principle protected under the Geneva Conventions and widely regarded as fundamental in conflict and civil unrest situations alike.

Claims of Hospitals Used as Tools of Repression

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, said testimony from doctors suggests that hospitals have effectively been turned into instruments of state repression.

He alleged deliberate ventilator shutdowns, obstruction of treatment, and arrests of patients directly from hospital beds. These actions, he argued, could amount to crimes against humanity if established by credible investigations.

He has called on the World Health Organisation to examine reports that medical institutions were used to suppress dissent.

When hospitals become places of fear rather than refuge, he warned, the consequences ripple far beyond one country’s borders.

Public trust in healthcare systems collapses. Doctors face impossible moral choices. Patients delay care out of fear.

Medical neutrality has historically been violated in several global conflicts, but international bodies typically treat such breaches as extremely serious due to their impact on civilian protection.

The Human Cost Beyond the Protests

Dr R also claims the fallout extended beyond protesters themselves. During a communications blackout on January 8, internet services were cut and landlines severely restricted. In emergencies, people reportedly struggled to reach ambulances.

The doctor described elderly individuals suffering heart attacks and pregnant women in labour who were unable to call for help. Some, they claim, died simply because emergency services could not be reached.

Communication shutdowns during unrest are not new. Authorities often argue they are necessary for security reasons. Critics counter that they hinder humanitarian access, prevent documentation of abuses and put ordinary civilians at risk.

Treatment Forced Underground

One particularly harrowing account involved a teenage boy allegedly shot during demonstrations. His father, fearing arrest if he sought hospital treatment, kept him at home. According to Dr R, the boy later died from untreated wounds.

The doctor says many injured individuals have avoided hospitals altogether, opting instead for makeshift home care. Bullets remain lodged in bodies. Infections spread. Some patients never receive X-rays or proper surgical intervention.

When fear overrides access to care, the consequences are predictable — and often fatal.

Political Backdrop and International Pressure

These allegations emerge at a tense moment for Iran. The country recently marked the 47th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution, even as domestic frustration simmers and international pressure mounts.

President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly apologised to “all those affected” by the protests and subsequent crackdown. He acknowledged the sorrow felt by the public but did not directly assign blame to security forces.

He insisted the government is “not seeking confrontation with the people” and reiterated that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, stating readiness for verification measures.

Meanwhile, negotiations with the United States over Iran’s nuclear programme continue, though uncertainty surrounds any potential deal. The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported difficulties in verifying aspects of Iran’s nuclear stockpile in recent months.

In Washington, US President Donald Trump has suggested increasing military presence in the Middle East, including potentially deploying an additional aircraft carrier group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also pushed for strict conditions in any future nuclear agreement.

All of this unfolds against a backdrop of significant reported casualties.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has verified thousands of deaths since protests began in late December and documented tens of thousands of arrests.

However, communication blackouts have made independent verification extremely difficult, and estimates vary widely.

The Bigger Ethical Question

Beyond geopolitics lies a deeper issue: what happens when medical spaces are no longer protected? Globally, healthcare systems depend on a basic social contract — that hospitals are safe, that doctors treat patients regardless of politics, and that life-saving care is not weaponised.

When that trust breaks, it doesn’t just affect protesters. It affects pregnant women, heart patients, children with infections — anyone who might hesitate before seeking help.

International human rights law, medical ethics codes such as the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Geneva, and humanitarian conventions all stress that medical professionals must not be punished for treating the wounded.

Violations erode not only rights but also public health infrastructure.

What’s next?

Much now hinges on independent verification. Human rights organisations are likely to continue collecting testimony from medical professionals and families.

Calls for international investigation may intensify, particularly through UN mechanisms or the World Health Organisation.

Diplomatic negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme could also shape the international response. Sanctions, monitoring agreements and political leverage may intersect with human rights concerns in ways that influence accountability efforts.

Inside Iran, the immediate future is harder to predict. Public anger has not fully subsided, and economic strain continues to fuel dissatisfaction. Whether reforms materialise — or whether pressure increases — remains to be seen.

Summary

An Iranian doctor has alleged that injured protesters were executed inside hospitals and that medical staff treating them have faced arrest and persecution.

Human rights advocates describe the situation as a severe breach of medical neutrality and potentially crimes against humanity, though images and claims remain unverified independently.

The allegations surface amid political tension, nuclear negotiations and growing international scrutiny, raising urgent questions about accountability, healthcare ethics and the protection of civilians during unrest.