Smuggled Scans Unveil Iran's Evil: Birdshot to Faces, Bullets to Vital Organs in January Uprising | GRAPHIC
Exclusive medical X-rays and CT scans from Iran reveal security forces deliberately targeted protesters' faces, chests, and genitals in January 2026, evidence of systematic maiming and killing.
Newly analyzed medical records from Iran have unveiled chilling evidence of deliberate violence by security forces during the January 2026 anti-government uprising. A collection of over 75 X-rays and CT scans, smuggled out from a single hospital in a major Iranian city and reviewed by experts for The Guardian, reveal patterns of injuries indicating intentional targeting of protesters' vital areas, specifically the face, chest, and genitals, to maximize harm, mutilation, and fatalities.
The images, captured during one intense evening of the regime's suppression, depict severe trauma inflicted by metal birdshot pellets and high-caliber bullets fired at close range. Medical experts described the wounds as akin to "wartime injuries," with consistent clustering in sensitive regions suggesting a policy of terror and permanent disablement rather than mere crowd control.
Harrowing Details from the Scans
Facial and Ocular Damage: Nearly 30 patients showed birdshot embedded in their faces, skulls, and eye sockets, leading to blindness and life-altering disfigurement. One CT scan of a young woman's head revealed dozens of pellets scattered across her facial structure.
Chest and Torso Trauma: Scans displayed chests riddled with over 170 tightly packed metal pellets, causing massive internal damage. High-velocity bullets were also evident, lodged in spines and vital organs.
Neck and Genital Injuries: A standout image showed a large-caliber bullet in a young man's neck, displacing his trachea, a wound inflicted at point-blank range. Genital targeting was noted as part of a broader pattern of humiliation and incapacitation.
These findings align with broader reports from human rights groups like Amnesty International, which documented security forces using live ammunition and shotguns on protesters, often aiming at heads and torsos amid a nationwide internet blackout.
Activists estimate thousands of deaths during the crackdown, with additional testimonies from doctors describing overwhelmed hospitals and arrests of the wounded directly from beds.
The evidence points to a "campaign of revenge" not only against demonstrators but also the healthcare system, with forces abducting patients and detaining medics who provided care.
This has been corroborated by eyewitness accounts and medical documentation from cities like Rasht, where records from two hospitals showed intentional shots to vital organs.