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New Reports Expose Iran’s Shocking Use of Rape, Torture to Crush Protests
People attend the funeral of the security forces who were killed in the protests that erupted over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 14, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces raped and tortured medical staff who treated wounded anti-regime protesters during the country’s nationwide uprising in January, targeting them in a campaign of intimidation against those aiding demonstrators, new reports reveal.
According to the London-based outlet Iran International, medical staff and other hospital personnel who treated people injured during the massive protests that erupted in late December and continued into early January before being crushed were detained by security agents and subjected to torture, repeated gang rape, and other forms of abuse while in custody.
In one of several shocking testimonies, two medical workers at Tehran’s Rajaei Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center recounted the horrors they suffered after being detained while treating injured protesters.
The two nurses were reportedly subjected to repeated sexual abuse and torture during detention, with one sustaining injuries so severe that part of her intestine had to be removed, leaving her to live with a colostomy bag.
After already undergoing two surgeries for severe uterine tearing, she may ultimately face complete removal of her uterus.
Detained and kept in isolation for several weeks, the other nurse — who also defied orders not to treat wounded protesters — suffered injuries so severe that she ultimately had her uterus completely removed.
Iran International also reported that the family of one of the nurses was forced to pay a substantial sum to an intelligence officer to secure her release after several weeks in detention.
She was even coerced into signing a statement falsely claiming she had been abused and raped by “rioters.”
According to the report, security forces and local police involved in the crackdown explicitly warned hospital staff against treating wounded protesters, with witnesses reporting that agents would arrest or physically assault medical workers who refused to comply.
Echoing other international reports, Iran International detailed that security forces allegedly stormed hospitals, opened fire on wounded patients, and even shot nurses trying to provide treatment.
As Iranian authorities sought to crush dissent and reassert control, human rights groups and international organizations repeatedly warned that protesters detained during the unrest faced a high risk of torture and sexual violence, with some estimates suggesting that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed on the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone.
In a separate new report released Monday, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Mai Sato, exposed the regime’s widespread use of physical and sexual violence to crush dissent during the nationwide protests that began on Dec. 28 last year, warning that such brutal tactics remain a longstanding tool of control.
The UN official called on Iranian authorities to immediately stop their brutal crackdown on civilians, release everyone detained for exercising fundamental rights, restore full internet access, and allow human rights organizations to carry out their work without interference.
According to the new report, the brutal crackdown saw protesters — including children — shot at close range or severely beaten by security forces.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators, including medical professionals and lawyers, were also arbitrarily detained. Many were held incommunicado, denied legal representation, forced to deliver televised confessions, and some — even minors — now face the death penalty.
“In practice, lethal force has been a consistent feature of the state’s response to protests over decades,” the report said, referring to past demonstrations in which security forces deployed assault rifles or shotguns firing metal pellets at crowds
Sato also presented evidence showing that security forces raided hospitals, arrested wounded protesters, assaulted medical staff, and subjected families of the killed or detained to intimidation and interference with their memorials.
“Their grief is compounded by state intimidation and the denial of truth,” she said.
According to the report’s latest findings, the regime’s human rights violations reflect systemic patterns rather than isolated incidents, highlighting both the failure to investigate excessive force and the growing securitization of responses to civilian protests.
“I am deeply concerned about the welfare of those in custody and the heightened risk of violations in the absence of independent scrutiny,” Sato said.
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High-Stakes US Special Forces Mission Rescues Airman From Iran After F-15 Crash
FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft takes off for a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, March 9, 2026. U.S. Air Force/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
US forces staged the audacious rescue of an airman behind enemy lines after Iran downed his fighter jet, officials said on Sunday, resolving a crisis for President Donald Trump as he weighs escalating the war, now in its sixth week.
The airman rescued by special operations forces, who Trump said was a colonel, was the weapons-systems officer on the downed F-15, a US official told Reuters.
“Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History,” Trump said in a statement, adding that the airman was injured but “he will be just fine.”
The officer was the second of two crew members on the warplane that Iran said on Friday had been brought down by its air defenses. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said several aircraft were destroyed during the US rescue mission, Tasnim news agency reported.
Reuters reported on Friday that the first crew member had been retrieved, triggering a high-profile search by both Iran and the United States for the remaining airman.
Iranian officials had urged citizens to help find him, hoping to gain leverage against Washington in the war Trump and Israel launched on February 28.
Trump has threatened to escalate the conflict in the coming days with attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
Had Iran captured the airman, the ensuing hostage crisis could have shifted American public perception of a conflict that opinion polls show was already unpopular.
Trump said the airman was rescued “in the treacherous mountains of Iran” in what he said was the first time in military memory that two US pilots had been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory.
The official told Reuters that as the weapons-systems officer was moved from near a mountain to a transport aircraft parked within Iran, US forces had to destroy at least one of the aircraft because it had malfunctioned.
U.S. AIRCRAFT HIT
The rescue effort, involving dozens of military aircraft, encountered fierce resistance from Iran.
Reuters reported on Friday that two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search were hit by Iranian fire but escaped from Iranian airspace.
Separately, a pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft after it was hit over Kuwait and crashed, the officials said, though the extent of crew injuries was unclear.
Still, Trump was triumphant.
“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies,” he said in his statement.
US air crews are trained in what to do if they go down behind enemy lines, measures known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, but few are fluent in Persian and face a challenge in staying undetected while seeking rescue.
The conflict has killed 13 US military service members, with more than 300 wounded, US Central Command says. No US troops have been taken prisoner by Iran.
While Trump has repeatedly sought to portray the Iranian military as being in tatters, they have repeatedly been able to hit US aircraft.
Reuters reported on US intelligence showing that Iran retains large amounts of missile and drone capability. Until just over a week ago, the US could only determine with certainty that it had destroyed about one-third of Iran’s missile arsenal.
The status of about another third was less clear, but bombings probably damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, Reuters sources said.
The US and Israeli war on Iran has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and hitting the global economy with soaring energy prices that are fueling fears of inflation.
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On Easter, Pope Leo Urges World Leaders to End Wars, Renounce Conquest
Pope Leo XIV waves from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after delivering his “Urbi et Orbi” (To the city and the world) message, on Easter Sunday at the Vatican, April 5, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Pope Leo urged global leaders in his Easter message on Sunday to end the conflicts raging across the world and abandon any schemes for power, conquest or domination.
The pope, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, lamented in a special message to the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square that people “are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent.”
“Let those who have weapons lay them down!” the first US pope exhorted. “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!”
Leo did not mention any specific conflicts in the message, known as the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing. It was unusually brief and direct.
The pope said that the story of Easter, when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead three days after not resisting his execution by crucifixion, shows that Christ was “entirely nonviolent.”
“On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars,” Leo urged.
Leo, who is known for choosing his words carefully, has been forcefully decrying the world’s violent conflicts in recent weeks and ramping up his criticism of the Iran war.
In a sermon for the Easter vigil on Saturday night, he urged people not to feel numbed by the scope of the conflicts raging across the world but to work for peace.
The pope made a rare direct appeal to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, urging him to find an “off-ramp” to end the Iran war.
In his address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday to the Square below, decorated with thousands of brightly colored flowers for the holiday, Leo offered brief Easter greetings in ten languages, including Latin, Arabic and Chinese.
The pope also announced he would return to the Basilica on April 11 to host a prayer vigil for peace.
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Temple Mount Set for Limited Reopening to Jews and Muslims
Israeli National Security Minister and head of Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement to members of the press, ahead of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
i24 News – Israeli authorities are preparing to partially reopen the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to both Jewish and Muslim worshipers for the first time since the start of the war with Iran, under a tightly controlled and highly restricted security arrangement, i24NEWS has learned.
According to details obtained by i24NEWS, the Israeli police, backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, are also expected to permit limited access for Jewish worshipers to the Western Wall as part of the same phased plan.
Under the framework, access to the Temple Mount and surrounding holy sites would be restricted to small groups of up to 150 people at a time. In the event of a missile alert, all visitors would be immediately evacuated in accordance with emergency protocols.
The decision follows a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing demonstrations in a limited format. Police argue that a consistent standard must apply across both civic gatherings and religious sites, with Ben-Gvir insisting that “there cannot be one rule for demonstrations and another for the Temple Mount.”
However, the reopening contradicts recommendations from the Home Front Command, which has advised keeping sensitive sites closed due to the ongoing risk of missile attacks.
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin has proposed transferring authority over such security-related decisions exclusively to defense officials, an initiative that could reshape the balance between the judiciary and security establishment regarding restrictions on public access.