Iranian Doctor Says Security Forces 'Shooting Inside' Hospitals
A doctor inside Iran has told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that security forces have stormed hospitals and executed wounded protesters amid a brutal state crackdown on nationwide antiestablishment protests.
The doctor, who said she works in a hospital in southern Iran, said members of Iran’s security forces had “finished off” protesters who had been admitted to hospital for treatment.
“They killed many [demonstrators], arrested many, and many are on the run,” said the doctor, who spoke to Radio Farda on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “The situation is very bad.”
RFE/RL could not independently verify the doctor’s claims.
The authorities have shut down the Internet and blocked phone lines, but eyewitness accounts have emerged that suggest the state is waging one of its deadliest-ever crackdowns on street protesters.
At least 648 people, mostly protesters, have been killed since protests erupted on December 28, according to human rights groups, which fear the real death toll could be in the thousands.
Iranian security forces have used brute force, including firing live ammunition at protesters, according to videos verified by RFE/RL and testimony from eyewitnesses.
'They're Killing Everyone'
Hospitals across Iran have been flooded with the dead and wounded, according to doctors and nurses inside the country of some 92 million people.
“It's a horrible situation, almost everywhere is closed,” a nurse living in the capital, Tehran, told Radio Farda. “There are many people with eye injuries. People say they don't want this establishment. They're killing everyone."
Human rights organizations have documented the use of metal pellets fired from shotguns, with security forces deliberately targeting the eyes and heads of protesters.
The doctor in southern Iran said the protests have “died down” after the authorities launched a large-scale crackdown in major cities, including in Tehran, on January 8 and 9.
The protests were sparked by spiraling inflation and a freefall of the national currency but have since snowballed into the biggest threat to Iran’s clerical rulers since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
A man in the city of Karaj, near Tehran, said he witnessed security forces directly firing at protesters.
“I saw everyone who was [running], they were falling on the ground, [security forces] were shooting,” said the man, who spoke to Radio Farda on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know what kind of ammunition they were using but it sounded like live ammunition.”
He said security forces piled dead protesters in trucks and drove away.
“They didn’t care who these people were,” he added. “I came home and my wife asked me if I was crying because of tear gas. I told her that I was crying because of the young people [killed].”
The United States struck more than 3,000 targets during the first week of the Iran war, the US Central Command said on March 6.
Israeli Air Defense Dominance Shapes War Strategy
- By Ray Furlong
TEL AVIV -- A lone ruin in the center of the city bears witness to the power of Iranian ballistic missiles. But the lack of other such sites underlines Israel's ability to shoot them down.
Ukraine Offers Its Expertise In Countering Iranian Drones
Ukraine is ready to share its battlefield experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones, as Washington and its partners confront similar threats in the Middle East, Ukraine's Embassy in the United States says.
"Ukraine knows how to defend against Shahed drone attacks because our cities have faced them almost every night. When our partners are in need, we always ready to help," Ukrainian Ambassador Olha Stefanishyna told RFE/RL on March 6.
"It's not about statements, we propose concrete, practical assistance, our experience, and solutions. This will help to protect human lives," she said.
Stefanishyna's comments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had received a request from the United States for "specific support" and ordered officials to provide the necessary means and expertise to assist air defense in the Gulf.
Throughout the week, Zelenskyy also discussed potential Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian strikes with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
As Tehran has long been an ally of Moscow, supplying it with military equipment and technology and fueling the Kremlin's war effort, Russia often launches around a hundred Shahed‑type drones at Ukraine at a time.
In response to the attacks, Ukraine developed cost-effective interception technologies. The country's interceptor drones offer an efficient way to stop large waves of drones that would otherwise require far more expensive missile systems.
Kyiv says it is able to intercept about 90 percent of Shahed drones launched toward its territory and estimates that Russia's military has used at least 57,000 such drones against its civilian and energy infrastructure.
As Ukraine continues to stress the need for coordinated international efforts and stronger cooperation in air defense to better protect civilians, the wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine show that the threat posed by Tehran's continued use and spread of Shahed drones is global, not regional.
White House Says US Looking At Potential Candidates To Lead Iran
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the United States is looking at potential candidates to lead Iran after President Donald Trump pushed Tehran to cease its resistance.
"I know there are a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won't go any further than that," Leavitt told reporters at the White House on March 6, as the conflict was about to enter its second week.
The comments came after Trump said the US wants to be involved in choosing Iran's next leader following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on February 28. Trump ruled out Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei -- a hardliner who has been considered a favorite to succeed his father -- as a successor.
As Washington has been pushing Iranian leaders to renounce Tehran's development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Trump suggested that the only acceptable outcome would be "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" and "the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE leader(s)."
"What the President means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not," Leavitt said.
Germany's Merz Warns Against 'Syrian Scenario' And 'Proxy Wars' In Iran
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that a lasting conflict in Iran could have "uncontrollable" consequences for the Middle East and Europe.
"A prolonged continuation of this war would not be in our interest," Merz said at a craftsmanship exhibition in Munich on March 6.
"The same applies to the possible collapse of the Iranian state or proxy conflicts fought on Iranian soil," he added, warning of the possibility of increased migration from Iran if a "Syrian scenario" occurs there. Years of conflict in Syria have forced millions to flee to Europe, many of them to Germany.
Merz spoke after a trip to Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump on March 3 and sought to ensure that Ukraine's defense against the Russia is not pushed aside by the war in the Middle East.
"The Iranian people have the right to decide their own destiny.... Iran must not become a theatre for proxy wars, and the Iranian state as such must remain functional," Merz said, while adding that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs "must be verifiably terminated."
With reporting by dpa
Fertilizer Shortfall Looms Amid Wars In The Middle East And Ukraine
Severe disruptions to shipping in the Middle East, caused by the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, are affecting global fertilizer producers, Reuters reports.
Russia, the world's largest exporter, may not be able to compensate for the shortfall, the news agency cites industry sources as saying.
With Washington, Tel-Aviv, and Tehran trading air attacks, the conflict, which is about to enter its second week, has impacted shipping routes via the Strait of Hormuz, which channels about a third of global fertilizer trade.
Despite Russia already accounting for about one-fifth of global trade, its own war against Ukraine, launched by the Kremlin in 2022, and domestic policies may prevent its producers from filling the potential gap.
Recent Ukrainian drone attacks on some of Moscow's largest plants have temporarily knocked out the country's production capacity. Combined with export caps intended to protect the domestic market, Russia's export capabilities are now constrained.
Besides, while Russian fertilizer industry has been largely exempted from Western sanctions to ensure global food security, it still faces payment and logistics problems related to those sanctions.
Russia primarily sells its fertilizers to Brazil, India, and China, and it also has some exports to the United States.
With reporting by Reuters
UN Stockpiles Aid in Uzbekistan Amid Iran Crisis
The Termez logistics hub, located on the Uzbek–Afghan border, has become a key center for emergency relief in Central Asia.
Originally set up to support humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, it is now part of the global stockpile network of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), allowing for the rapid deployment of core relief items such as tents, blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, jerry cans, and solar lamps.
On March 5, the UNHCR said in a situation update that these pre-positioned supplies remain limited but can be deployed quickly if the displacement of people increases. The agency also noted that it is coordinating closely with governments and humanitarian partners across the region.
The UNHCR update highlights that the recent escalation in the war involving Iran has displaced over 300,000 people, mostly within their own countries. Most of the displacement remains internal, and the agency has not reported any major cross-border movements from Iran so far.
The report also notes that return of Afghans from Iran is continuing, adding pressure to already fragile humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan.
Central Asian governments are monitoring the situation closely.
Regional foreign ministers held a conversation about the evolving situation in the Middle East to coordinate preparedness and exchange information.
In Kazakhstan, officials said that no formal requests for refugee admission related to the Iran conflict have been received.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev said that protocols are in place for refugee applications and relevant government agencies are prepared to carry out any necessary measures.
Israel Pounds Beirut After Ordering Evacuation Of Southern Suburbs
Israel carried out heavy air strikes on Beirut on March 6 after ordering residents to evacuate the entire southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, a major escalation of the war with Iran that began a week ago alongside the United States.
Israeli forces said the strikes targeted Hezbollah command centers and weapons depots after the Iran-backed group fired on Israel earlier in the week.
Explosions lit up the sky over the southern districts as thousands of civilians fled, with many forced to sleep in cars, on beaches, or in central Beirut streets.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli attacks had killed at least 123 people and wounded 683. The scale of the evacuation and bombardment marks one of the most intense attacks on Beirut in years.
With reporting by Reuters
US, South Korea Discuss Redeploying Patriot Missiles Amid Iran War
South Korea and the United States are discussing whether to redeploy some US Patriot missile defense systems currently stationed in South Korea to support operations in the ongoing war with Iran, according to Seoul’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun.
The talks follow media reports that certain Patriot units had recently been moved to Osan Air Base from other locations within South Korea.
The discussions come as Washington reviews military deployments during the Iran war.”
The potential shift has raised attention in South Korea because Patriot batteries help defend against North Korean missile threats.
Officials emphasized that any decision would take into account the need to maintain the peninsula’s defensive readiness.
With reporting by Reuters
Tears Of Joy And Sorrow: Mixed Emotions In Tehran As Toll Of War Mounts
With Iran coming under daily attack from US and Israeli air strikes, the toll of the expanding war is adding up both physically and mentally for the country's 92 million people.
Tehran came under intense bombardment in the early hours of March 6, with witnesses reporting multiple explosions, particularly around major government buildings, as the United States and Israel look to weaken the Islamic republic, which has already seen Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military leaders killed.
“The destruction has been very extensive. We’re experiencing very conflicting emotions," one woman who lives in the capital told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
"One of them is happiness about the dictator being gone, and, for example, the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and people like that -- honestly, you can’t say their deaths aren’t sweet; they really are. But, on the other hand, parts of the city that we had memories with for years are being destroyed,” she added.
Read the full article by Kian Sharifi, Roya Karimi Majd, and Vahid Pourostad here.