Over 12,000 feared dead after Iran protests: CBS

CBS News has verified video showing the bodies of at least 366 and likely more than 400 people with gunshot wounds and other severe injuries piled up at a morgue in a Tehran suburb, the first concrete visual evidence of the scale of Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests.

The 16-minute clip shows forensic personnel documenting gruesome injuries including gunshot wounds, birdshot shotgun wounds and gashes, whilst crowds appear to be trying to identify the dead. Piles of bloody clothing fill the morgue compound.

The verified footage represents only a fraction of what sources told CBS News on Tuesday may be a far larger death toll. Two sources, including one inside Iran, said between 12,000 and 20,000 people may have been killed since protests erupted in late December—though CBS News has not independently verified these figures.

A source inside Iran told CBS News that activist groups compiling deaths based on reports from medical officials across the country believe the toll reached at least 12,000 and possibly as high as 20,000. Iran International television reported information suggesting about 12,000 deaths, whilst a Washington source with Iran contacts said a credible source put the figure between 10,000 and 12,000.

These estimates far exceed numbers reported by most activist groups in recent days—though those groups have acknowledged their tallies are likely underestimated due to Iran’s five-day communications blackout.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament on Tuesday that the UK government believed there “may have been 2,000 people killed, there have been more. My fear is that the number may prove to be significantly higher.” Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official Tuesday saying about 2,000 had been killed since 28 December, blaming violence on foreign-influenced “terrorists”.

The truth has proved nearly impossible to piece together as Iran’s hardline rulers maintain a near-total communications lockdown. A complete internet shutdown remained in place for a fifth day Tuesday, though some Iranians were able to make phone calls out—it remained impossible to call into Iran from outside.

Report: Iran protests death toll hits 12,000 in systematic massacre 

The source inside Iran who spoke to CBS News said security forces were visiting private hospitals across Tehran, threatening staff to hand over the names and addresses of those being treated for protest-related injuries.

Iranian activist and blogger Vahid Online first posted the verified morgue footage, saying a source travelled about 600 miles to upload it amid the blackout.

Trump threatens intervention as protests spread

The protests were sparked by anger over cost of living increases in Iran’s sanctions-hobbled economy but quickly grew into mass rallies across all 31 provinces, with tens of thousands chanting for the downfall of the country’s Islamic rulers. Even the lower 2,000 figure would surpass any officially reported casualty toll from past anti-regime protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

President Trump, asked Tuesday how many had been killed, responded: “Nobody’s been able to give me an accurate number.” He warned repeatedly last week that if the regime killed protesters, the United States would take action, without specifying what response might follow.

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING—TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump posted Tuesday, offering no details about what help the US might provide.

Trump’s national security team was scheduled to hold a White House meeting Tuesday to discuss options. The president has been briefed on military and covert tools beyond conventional airstrikes, according to two Pentagon officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who leads the Norway-based activist organisation Iran Human Rights, said: “The information that we are receiving shows that the violent crackdown [against] the protests has probably been much worse than we can even imagine. The whole international community’s red lines have been crossed.”

He told CBS News his organisation received video Monday night showing the aftermath of one purported attack leaving 75 dead in Mazandaran province, about three hours north of Tehran. He urged world powers to provide Iranians with better means to communicate, saying Iran’s internet shutdown amounts to “solitary confinement” whilst authorities “start torturing and killing them”.

The blackout was initiated on 8 January when thousands heeded exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call to protest. Pahlavi, whose father fled Iran during the 1979 revolution, has said he is ready to return and lead the country.

“The best way to ensure that there will be less people killed in Iran is to intervene sooner, so this regime finally collapses and puts an end to all the problems that we are facing,” Pahlavi told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell on Monday. He has communicated with the Trump administration but did not reveal details.

Amiry-Moghaddam said an “absolute majority” of Iranians “don’t want the regime, like more than 80%”, though he noted that group was “roughly divided into three” between monarchy supporters, opponents of monarchy, and those undecided.

Iran’s police chief claimed Tuesday the protests had been ordered from outside the country and that paid “terrorists” had been confronted inside Iran. Iranian officials have not provided regular death toll estimates.