IRAN’S ruthless regime may have killed over 16,500 protesters – as desperate families continue the gruelling search for missing loved ones.
The Ayatollah is reportedly plotting to extent his nationwide internet blackout indefinitely – plunging the country into permanent “digital isolation” as part of the .
The regime may have slaughtered 16,500 during its brutal crackdownCredit: Reuters
Protesters have taken to the streets in Iran over the last two weeksCredit: Getty
An Iranian official claimed at least 5,000 people had been killed amid the carnage as of Sunday, including 500 security personnel.
The unnamed source blamed “” for killing “innocent Iranians”.
But separate reports claim between 16,500 to 18,000 people have been slaughtered while 330,00 to 360,000 have been left injured during the riots.
The – with the figures compiled by dozens of overwhelmed hospitals across the nation.
Most of the dead are believed to be under the age of 30.
Many victims have also died due to blood loss – with several doctors telling how security forces prevented some medics from donating blood.
One surgeon in Tehran said: “We fight for hours to save lives, only to lose patients because they are not allowed to receive blood transfusions.”
Between 700 to 1,000 people have lost an eye amid the bloody clampdown, with one hospital in Tehran recording 7,000 eye injuries.
One ophthalmologist told The Sunday Times : “There are so many shotgun-related eye injuries that we do not know whom to treat first.”
The protests have exploded in brutality since they kicked off on December 28 – with the Ayatollah admitting on Friday that his had killed “several thousands”.
The massacre marks the most brutal response by the Islamic regime to demonstrations in its 47-year reign.
The pariah blasted the protesters, branding them “foot-soldiers of the United States” and claiming that the “rioters were armed with live ammunition that was imported from abroad”.
Fears are also mounting that Tehran is planning to extend the 10-day-long internet blackout – leaving some 92 million residents in “digital darkness” permanently.
The Ayatollah’s henchmen are reportedly scheming a plan to sink the country into “absolute digital isolation”, according to Filterwatch, a digital monitoring project.
The Islamic Republic is switching its old model of “mass internet censorship” in favour of a “permanent shift” toward a “sealed intranet”.
The Ayatollah is reportedly plotting to extent the internet blackout foreverCredit: EPA
The streets of Iran were set ablaze during the riotsCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Only those with a “security clearance” will be able to reach the outside world, Filterwatch said.
The watchdog said: “This information blockade reflects the extreme securitization of the ‘Communication Blackhole’ project, making access to real news harder for domestic users than for external observers.”
Tehran spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani claimed international web access would not be available until at least the Iranian New Year in late March, IranWire reported.
The current blackout is the longest Iran has ever seen – with analysts claiming it may have been an attempt to help cover up the massacre on protesters.
It comes after Donald Trump lashed out at Khamenei, branding him a criminal responsible for thousands of deaths.
The Ayatollah hit back, claiming Trump had fuelled the nationwide demonstrations which saw his security forces shoot civilians dead on the street.
Iranian student Rubina Aminian, 23, was killed by security forces during the uprisingCredit: Supplied
Millions have taken to the streets since December 28Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The Middle East was braced for US strikes on the Islamist regime after “help is on the way” after 17 days of bloody street strife.
Iran had of those captured during the deadly protests but Trump has now accepted assurances that “killing in Iran is stopping”.
“The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago,” Trump told Politico.
But an Iranian refugee in contact with protesters told The Sun: “The regime is buying time by lying to Trump and they will do what they want once he loses focus.
“People are pleased that there have been no executions so far but that could change very quickly.”
The protests spilled into all 31 Iranian provinces and were bolstered by calls from Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, to overthrow to government.
Among the dead was Iranian textiles student at a protest in Tehran.
Her family were forced to search through hundreds of bodies to identify her, reports said.
Thousands are feared dead, according to various human rights groupsCredit: Shutterstock Editorial 
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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