Bodies build up on streets in Iran ‘after 500 protestors are killed’: Mourners console each other

Shocking footage shows body bags lining the side of the road in Iran following the regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent. 

The clip features as many as 180 corpses by some estimates, with shellshocked mourners standing next to their deceased loved ones and being consoled by their compatriots. 

The footage was taken outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center in the south of Tehran, where bodies are transferred for identification, forensic examination and the issuance of death certificates. 

Activists now say that the death toll from the brutal suppression of nationwide demonstrations in the Middle Eastern nation is at least 538 people.

The group responsible for that figure, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, also claim that more than 10,600 people have been detained.

The video was uploaded to social media platform X, with a harrowing caption describing scenes on the ground in Iran.  

‘Morgues and hospitals are overflowing with bodies. Many hospitals can no longer accommodate the injured, and morgues are running out of space,’ the user wrote. 

‘The Islamic Republic is killing the people of Iran. World leaders must take immediate action to stop this crime against humanity. #Iran’

The sheer volume of body bags underlines the extent of the backlash to protests in Tehran, with one US-based group putting the total death toll at more than 500

Two mourners console each other outside the medical facility in Tehran

The video shows the extent of the devastation, with bodybags lying outside the facility, some still on hospital gurneys and others on the floor.

Family members stand next to the bodies, as they are consoled by others. 

Protests in Iran began on December 28 over the country’s ailing economy and have transformed into the most significant challenge to the regime for several years.

The internet and telephone lines have been cut off, but footage of events in Tehran and other cities has circulated widely on social media.

Fanatical leaders declared that anyone joining the protests will be considered an ‘enemy of God’, punishable by death. One woman told CNN she had seen bodies ‘piled up’ at a hospital – likely to be the one pictured. 

Meanwhile, Iran has warned Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US military and Israel would be ‘legitimate targets’ if the US strikes Tehran.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad ‍Baqer ‍Qalibaf gave the warning in a speech to parliament in the Iranian capital, while lawmakers shouted ‘death to America’.

‘In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,’ Qalibaf said.

Mourners look shellshocked as they cover the faces of loved ones outside the medical centre

Iranians demonstrators during a protest in Tehran, Iran on January 9, 2026 as fires burn in the street

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a gathering of the people of Qom in Tehran. On January 8, 2026, Iranian protesters intensified their challenge to the clerical leadership, marking the largest demonstrations in nearly two weeks of rallies

‘We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.’

President Trump last week warned Iran would ‘get hit very hard’ if it repeated the mass killings of previous uprisings.

In a post on his Truth Social network on Saturday, he said: ‘Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!’ It was reported last night that the White House has held ‘preliminary discussions’ on plans for a potential strike against Iran.

The State Department separately warned: ‘Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.’

Trump previously struck three nuclear facilities in Iran during Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025.