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Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of death and injury.
Protester recounts wife's fatal shooting amid unrest
Reza held his wife Maryam close as they left a Tehran protest on 8 January. Moments later, a bullet struck her dead, leaving only her jacket in his arms. For an hour and a half, Reza carried her body through the streets before strangers took them into their home, wrapping Maryam in a white sheet.
Days earlier, Maryam had prepared her children-aged seven and 14-for the risks of protesting. "My blood, and yours, is no more precious than anyone else's," she told them. Neither Reza nor Maryam are their real names.
Death toll rises as internet blackout obscures scale
The US-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has verified at least 2,400 protesters killed, including 12 children, in the past three weeks. The actual number is likely higher, as Iran remains under a near-total internet blackout imposed on 11 January.
Human rights groups and international media, including the BBC, lack direct access to the country. Iranian authorities have not released official figures but claim 100 security personnel died, accusing protesters of torching mosques and banks.
Protests escalate into nationwide defiance
Demonstrations erupted in Tehran on 29 December after the Iranian currency plummeted against the dollar. By early January, protests had spread to dozens of cities, shifting focus to demands for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The bloodiest crackdown occurred on 11-12 January, when thousands took to the streets. Witnesses told BBC Persian of security forces targeting heads and faces, with one describing their neighborhood as "smelling of blood."
Young lives cut short across Iran
In Tonekabon, a northern town of 50,000, 18-year-old university student Sorena Golgun was shot in the heart while fleeing security forces. In Tehran, 23-year-old fashion student Robina Aminian, who dreamed of studying in Milan, was killed on 11 January.
Robina's mother traveled six hours from Kermanshah to retrieve her body, only to be forced to bury her in a remote cemetery without family present. Not all victims were protesters-24-year-old nurse Navid Salehi was shot multiple times leaving work in Kermanshah.
Forensic center overwhelmed by bodies
Many protesters' bodies were sent to Tehran's Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre. A witness, Sahanand, described seeing over 2,000 bodies on the ground. While the BBC cannot independently verify this, newly emerged footage shows at least 186 bodies in one video and 178 in another, with likely overlaps.
"It was like a war," said a young woman who fled Iran this week, fearing executions. "The protesters are more united than ever, but I'm terrified for those still there."
Protests span all provinces despite repression
Unrest has reached all 31 Iranian provinces, with smaller towns facing violence as severe as major cities. Witnesses, risking repercussions, continue to share accounts of the crackdown, determined to expose the brutality.
