Protests in Iran Push Hospitals to Breaking Point, Medics Say

Updated by Erick Kikomeko at 1449 EAT on Saturday 10 January 2026

As protests in Iran continue, hospitals are struggling to handle a growing number of injured demonstrators. Authorities have issued coordinated warnings to protesters, but medical staff report being stretched to the limit.

A doctor at a Tehran eye hospital told the BBC that the facility had entered crisis mode, while a medic at another hospital said there were not enough surgeons to treat the influx of patients.

The unrest has also drawn international attention. On Friday, US President Donald Trump warned Iran was in “big trouble,” adding, “you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”

Iran, in turn, sent a letter to the UN Security Council, accusing the United States of turning the protests into what it called “violent subversive acts and widespread vandalism.”

Meanwhile, international leaders have called for the right to peaceful protest to be protected.
Anti-government demonstrations continued on Friday across dozens of cities, with two human rights organisations reporting that at least 50 protesters have been killed.

The BBC and most other international news organisations remain barred from reporting inside Iran. The country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday evening, making it difficult to obtain and verify information.

A doctor in Tehran, speaking to the BBC via Starlink satellite internet on Friday night, said Farabi Hospital — the city’s main eye specialist centre — had entered crisis mode, with emergency services overwhelmed. Non-urgent admissions and surgeries were suspended, and additional staff were called in to manage emergency cases.

The BBC also obtained a video and audio message from a medic in Shiraz, a city in south-west Iran, on Thursday. The medic said large numbers of injured people were arriving at the hospital and that there were not enough surgeons to treat them. He added that many of the wounded had gunshot injuries to the head and eyes.

Since the protests began on 28 December, at least 50 protesters and 15 security personnel have been killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA). The group also reported that more than 2,311 individuals have been arrested.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) put the death toll at 51 protesters, including nine children. BBC Persian has spoken to the families of 22 of those killed and confirmed their identities.
United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the UN was “very disturbed by the loss of life.” He added: “People anywhere in the world have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right and to ensure that it is respected.”

International leaders also spoke out. French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz released a joint statement saying: “The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained defiant in a televised address on Friday. He said: “The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this.” Later, speaking to a gathering of supporters and broadcast on state television, Khamenei reiterated that Iran “will not shirk from dealing with destructive elements.”

By contrast, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah and one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures, described the protests on Friday as “magnificent” and urged Iranians to stage further targeted demonstrations over the weekend.

“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres,” Pahlavi, who is based in the US, said in a video message on social media. He also indicated that he was preparing to return to Iran.

Early on Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X: “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”
Iranian political activist Taghi Rahmani, who spent 14 years in prison in Iran and whose wife, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, was re-arrested in December, expressed skepticism about American support in an interview with the Today programme.

“We believe foreign intervention will make the opposition dependent,” he said. “When the opposition is dependent, you have to sacrifice national interests for that government. This will not be acceptable for the Iranian people.”

Meanwhile, Iranian security and judicial authorities issued a series of coordinated warnings to protesters on Friday, hardening their rhetoric. The announcements echoed an earlier message of “no leniency” from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iran’s National Security Council said “decisive and necessary legal action will be taken” against protesters, whom it described as “armed vandals” and “disruptors of peace and security.”

The intelligence arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also warned that it would not tolerate what it called “terrorist acts,” asserting that it would continue its operations “until the complete defeat of the enemy’s plan.”

-BBC

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