In the streets of Iran, grief and fear have become daily companions. Families mourn loved ones lost to bullets, hospitals overflow with the wounded, and citizens whisper through fractured communications to tell the world their suffering. Across the country, Iran is in the grip of its deadliest protests in decades, as a surge of anger over economic hardship and political repression meets a violent crackdown that has left over 2,500 dead.
What began as demonstrations against soaring inflation and economic despair has escalated into an unprecedented confrontation with the state. Protesters in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, and smaller cities have taken to the streets, demanding change, while Iranian authorities have responded with lethal force. Doctors and medical staff report seeing a deliberate pattern: security forces appear to be aiming at protesters’ heads and eyes. An ophthalmologist at a major Tehran hospital documented over 400 eye injuries caused by gunshots, leaving many permanently blind.
“The wounds are unlike anything we’ve seen before,” one doctor told The Guardian. “These are not accidental. They are meant to maim, to terrify, to silence.” Hospitals are overwhelmed and doctors are struggling with shortages of medicine and medical supplies.
The death toll, reported by human rights activists, has now risen to at least 2,571, making these demonstrations the deadliest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Families trying to reach loved ones after days of government-imposed communication blackouts describe desperate, fractured phone calls and frantic searches.
The international response has been intense. The United Kingdom condemned the “brutal killing” of protesters, while the United States sees rising tension in its rhetoric: former President Donald Trump has canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and encouraged protesters to “take over your institutions,” promising that “help is on the way,” without offering further details. Trump has also publicly entertained the possibility of military action, escalating fears of a wider conflict.
Inside Iran, the government has framed the unrest as driven by foreign agents, signaling harsh reprisals for protesters, including fast-tracked trials and potential executions. Within this climate of fear, ordinary Iranians are documenting the crisis as best they can, using fleeting moments of connectivity to record stories of loss, resilience, and courage.
From families shielding their children in bombed-out neighborhoods to young activists facing a grim choice between silence and defiance, the human cost of these protests is painfully tangible. While the death toll climbs, the protesters’ voices—often whispered over shattered phone lines or shouted through barricades—continue to demand what many in the country see as their most basic rights: safety, dignity, and a future free from fear.
By Team GT
