The BBC reports that the situation in Iran is rapidly deteriorating as anti-government protests intensify into open riots in multiple cities. Security forces have been using less-than-lethal munitions and, in some cases, live ammunition against demonstrators, particularly in Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tehran.
One Iranian doctor, who contacted the BBC via Starlink satellite internet on Friday night, said Tehran’s Farabi Hospital — the country’s main eye specialty center — has entered crisis mode. Emergency services are reportedly overwhelmed, non-urgent admissions and surgeries have been suspended, and staff have been called in to handle a surge of emergency cases.
The BBC also obtained video and audio messages from a medic at a hospital in the southwestern city of Shiraz. The medic said large numbers of injured protesters were being brought in and that the hospital lacks enough surgeons to manage the influx. He claimed many of the wounded suffered gunshot injuries to the head and eyes.
