THE death toll from Iran’s brutal crackdown on protesters is feared to be at 12,000 – with a doctor revealing the chaos in the country’s A&E departments.
The has been accused of engaging in the “largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history”, as chilling SOS text messages from trapped civilians begin to emerge.
Cars burn in a street during a protest in Tehran which have now been ongoing for 16 daysCredit: Reuters
Iranian security forces seen during a pro-government rally in Tehran, IranCredit: Getty
Dozens of the dead have been placed in unidentified body bagsCredit: AFP
Most of the deaths occurred on two consecutive nights as soldiers used “military grade” weapons to quell street demos.
The mass killings were carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the ruthless Basij, a volunteer militia which acts as the country’s morality police.
Protesters have reportedly been shot dead by officers with others brutally arrested and .
Tehran has continued to downplay the death toll – with an official claiming today it was 2,000.
They outright blamed “terrorists” – the term the regime is using for protesters – for the deaths.
But exiled Iranian journalists said it was far higher after speaking to multiple government sources.
The London-based Iran International television station said Tehran had engaged in the “largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history”.
One doctor working in an overwhelmed casualty department on Thursday and Friday last week when most of the slaughter occurred revealed they were the worst nights of his 38-year career.
He said: “There were gunshots, bursts of fire, even heavy machine-gun fire. We had only seen such things in movies, never in real life.
“We had five operating rooms running. I was there until morning. I don’t know how many surgeries I performed.
“Someone shouted ‘Help here!’ while I was still over another patient. From everywhere, the calls came.
“It was like those films showing hospital corridors lined with bodies.
“I saw the naked face of violence. Starting on Thursday, the type of injury changed. It was a war bullet. It was as if they had been ordered to shoot everyone, because it was war.
“The number of deaths is much higher than the 2,000 people they said.”
Some Iranian security forces are also among those killed.
An exact death toll remains hard to confirm due to the regime ordering an internet blackout which has now been ongoing for over 115 hours.
Restrictions have eased to allow people to make international calls but they still can’t text friends and relatives with those abroad being unable to call them.
One Iranian who was able to send a message to loved ones pleaded: “Please help us. The situation here is horrific. It is a ful- scale war.”
Pedestrians pass a burned out building in Tehran which was heavily damaged during protestsCredit: Getty
Protesters block a road in Tehran, Iran as fires are started on the highwayCredit: Getty
The Sun was also given unprecedented access to (PMOI/MEK) resistance units risking their lives on the frontline of the protests.
Amir, a member of a resistance unit in the city of Shiraz, told how Iranians feel they have “nothing left to lose”.
The orders for security forces to unleash hell on demonstrators came shortly after the protests turned on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Outrage started more than two weeks ago over the collapse of the Rial currency but soon morphed into fiery demonstrations against those who have governed Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said the grim death toll only shows “the weakness of Khamenei”.
She said: “Khamenei, a dictator facing a dead end, has sent his Revolutionary Guards, Basij forces, torturers, and state prosecutors into the streets.
“Our people have brought their endless love for freedom, their strong will to change their fate, and their great power of sacrifice to the streets.
“The bodies of Iran’s freedom fighters, filling hospitals and morgues, show the people’s determination. They are not afraid to give their lives to end religious dictatorship.”
As well as the terrifying death toll, more than 10,700 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The UK Foreign Office has now summoned the Iranian ambassador over the country’s response to protests against the ruling regime, Yvette Cooper confirmed in the Commons.
Protesters in London set fire to a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali KhameneiCredit: EPA
The Iranian Leader’s Press Office releases an image of a pro-government rally in Tehran as they continue to suppress the anti-regime protests through an internet blackoutCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Dozens of these detained protesters are now set to be executed this week after Iran expedited court hearings so they can kill convicted “ringleaders of unrest”.
Erfan Soltani, 26, was held on Saturday and charged with “waging war against God”, which is punishable by death in Iran.
Supporters say he has not been allowed legal advice and had no chance to defend himself before a verdict of death by hanging was delivered.
He was allowed to see his family for just ten minutes yesterday to say goodbye, according to activists.
GLOBAL TENSIONS
The scenes in Iran have sent alarm bells ringing for dozens of nations.
Donald Trump has vowed to protect the civilians by using military force on Tehran if protesters continue to be killed.
Trump has been briefed on specific military options including cyberattacks, psychological warfare or strikes on nuclear sites.
A White House Official told Axios the US president wants to punish the regime and is leaning towards launching airstrikes.
These would target Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile sites, according to a New York Times report.
Iran has vowed to teach Trump an “unforgettable lesson” should he launch airstrikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also posted a cartoon of a crumbling statue of the US president.
Britain must back freedom and stand with courageous rebels in Iran
THE SUN ON SUNDAY
YOU would think the attempts by thousands of freedom protesters to overthrow a brutal, murderous regime would warrant some serious support from any British government.
After all we are talking about a tyranny which has promoted terror across the globe and threatened the West with a far-reaching nuclear programme.
But, apart from Sir Keir Starmer’s mealy-mouthed joint European statement calling for “restraint”, the mass uprising against Iran’s blood-soaked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been received by near- silence from the Labour hierarchy.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper seems to have lost her voice and the mass ranks of government MPs have hardly breathed a dicky bird.
Not a single Labour MP on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has even so much as tweeted.
Compare that to the party’s fire and fury which blazed daily against Israel for its response to the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust.
Perhaps Labour fears upsetting its Muslim base?
The PM says Britain’s shared values include “common respect for freedom, democracy, liberty.’’
Yet for almost 50 years the monstrous mullahs of Iran have overseen a brutal Islamic Republic which uses lethal force against women who don’t wear head coverings.
They have obliterated the right to freedom of expression and anyone in a same-sex relationship could face the death penalty.
Donald Trump’s bold strike against the country’s nuclear programme last year dealt it a devastating political blow.
Now the crumbling economy could be the final nail in the coffin of 86-year-old Khamenei and his barbarous henchmen.
But as they see their powerbase crumbling, the regime’s leaders have arrested almost 2,500 people, including 166 children, and used military grade weapons against unarmed protesters.
It is time for the PM to show his principles count. He and his foreign secretary should throw their wholehearted support behind this uprising.
If Britain backs freedom, democracy and liberty it must stand united with the courageous rebels in Iran.
White House spokesperson, , hit back at the Iranian rhetoric as she said Tehran is sending “quite different” messages privately to the US compared to their scathing public comments.
Washington has already hit the Middle East nation with in the past 24 hours.
Trump announced on Monday: “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25 per cent on any and all business being done with the United States of America.
“This Order is final and conclusive.”
This has only stoked tensions between China and America however.
China is Iran’s number one trading partner and one of the biggest buyers of sanctioned Iranian oil.
More than a quarter of Iran’s trade takes place with China with $32.5 billion in imports and exports between the two nations and Beijing said it would “take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.
Despite worldwide condemnation of the regime, Middle East experts reckoned it may well survive what is the fifth major uprising since 2009 with no cracks appearing so far in the country’s security elite.
Paul Salem, of the Middle East Institute, said: “Ayatollah Khamenei has survived several past waves of unrest, evidence of resilience and cohesion even as the government confronts a deep, unresolved internal crisis.”
Donald Trump has reportedly been briefed on a wide range of military options to smash Iran with from cyberattacks to strikes on nuclear sitesCredit: AP
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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