Machine guns to machetes: Weapons that massacred thousands in Iran

The Iranian authorities have consistently blamed the killings on "rioters and terrorists," attempting to deflect accountability for the systematic deployment of lethal force. However, the BBC Persian analysis, corroborated by witness accounts, reports from human rights groups, and media outlets, paints a grim picture of state-sanctioned violence against its own citizens. The investigation delves into the specific types of weapons employed, offering stark evidence of their devastating impact.

Machine Guns Unleashed

Footage meticulously verified by BBC News Persian from cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Yazdanshahr, and Shahsavar clearly depicts both heavy machine guns, such as the DShK, and medium machine guns, like the PK, mounted on military pickup trucks. These weapons were reportedly used not only for crowd control but to impose a terrifying state of siege, sowing widespread fear and suppressing dissent through overwhelming firepower.

A striking piece of evidence emerged from the Vahid Online Telegram channel, which shared photographs of a black pickup truck armed with a machine gun in Tehran’s Sadeghiyeh Square on January 8th. BBC News Persian’s subsequent cross-referencing with images from Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, taken during a 2025 military parade, revealed nearly identical Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pickups equipped with the same weapon. Amael Kotlarski, a weapons expert from the defense-intelligence company Janes, identified the weapon as the DShKM model, which is produced under license in Iran.

Further damning evidence came from a video shared by Iran International, documenting protests in Yazdanshahr on January 9th. The footage unequivocally shows protesters subjected to sustained machine-gun fire, with the weapon’s powerful muzzle flash clearly visible. A representative from Thames Valley Guns, a UK-based firm specializing in military firearms analysis, confirmed to BBC News Persian that vehicles equipped with DShK machine guns were indeed present in protest footage.

In a particularly disturbing verified video from Tehran’s Behesht Square, an individual displays spent cartridge casings from a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle alongside a large spent shell. The individual states that security forces had fired these at protesters. Thames Valley Guns confirmed that the large black projectile was a 20mm automatic cannon round, a weapon designed to destroy military hardware, not personnel. The rifling marks on its driving band definitively prove it had been fired. "Ammunition of this nature is intended to defeat structures, vehicles and hardened targets, including lightly armoured personnel carriers," the representative explained. "They are not engineered for use against personnel, though the consequences of such a strike on a human would be catastrophic."

The Shadow of Sniper Rifles

Witnesses have consistently reported the widespread use of sniper rifles during the January protests, a claim substantiated by verified footage. A video from the city of Mashhad, verified by BBC News Persian, shows two individuals in black tactical uniforms, characteristic of various Iranian security forces including the IRGC, positioned on a hotel rooftop. Beside one of them, a Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD) is clearly visible leaning against a wall.

The use of snipers was even acknowledged by a forensic expert in an interview with Iranian state television. On January 8th, a relative of Ebrahim Pourahmadian, a building caretaker in Tehran from Saqqez, informed BBC News Persian that a sniper had shot him in the head in front of his child. Photographs of Pourahmadian’s body, obtained by BBC News Persian, confirm a single, precise gunshot wound to the center of his forehead. The Thames Valley Guns representative highlighted the profound psychological impact of snipers, noting, "For untrained civilians, the effect is even more severe. Most people have no understanding of how to respond to a distant, unseen threat – and the resulting fear certainly triggers mass panic."

Assault Rifles: The Standard Issue of Repression

The Kalashnikov assault rifle serves as the standard-issue weapon for all military and law-enforcement branches in Iran. BBC News Persian has analyzed numerous videos showing members of both the police and the IRGC wielding AK-47 Kalashnikovs and their Iranian-produced KL variants. A video from Amol on January 9th shows a security officer aiming and firing a Kalashnikov directly at protesters. Analysis of exclusive images of spent casings recovered from the streets by BBC News Persian confirmed they were 7.62x39mm rounds, the specific caliber for Kalashnikov-type rifles.

Shotguns: Instruments of Maiming and Death

The investigation confirms the extensive use of shotguns, which, as seen during the crackdown on the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests, has led to numerous deaths and permanent eye injuries. Verified footage from Lordegan on January 1st and Abadan on January 7th shows police officers armed with shotguns on the streets during protests. Kotlarski identified several models, including the Iranian-made Maher shotgun in both standard and short-barrel configurations.

The devastating consequences of shotgun use are starkly illustrated by reports from Mashhad. Between January 9th and 10th alone, approximately 1,000 patients requiring emergency surgery for ruptured eyeballs caused by metal pellets were admitted to a single eye hospital, according to its head, Dr. Ghasem Fakhraei. BBC News Persian has obtained CT scans and medical records of wounded protesters from Mashhad, one of which clearly shows a metal pellet embedded in the eye tissue, a testament to the brutal effectiveness of these weapons in causing permanent disfigurement and blindness.

Handguns and the Brutality of Machetes

In two videos from Kermanshah on January 8th, plainclothes security forces agents are seen carrying pistols, believed by analysts to resemble the Beretta Model 50 or CZ 75.

However, the use of less conventional, yet equally brutal, weapons like machetes has also been documented. Numerous protesters have reported attacks with knives and machetes, and photographs of deceased individuals reveal wounds consistent with these bladed weapons, in addition to bullet injuries. CCTV footage from Tehran chillingly shows plainclothes agents attacking protesters seeking refuge in an apartment building with machetes. Another video from the capital on January 8th depicts a plainclothes officer striking a female protester in the head with a machete, while other security personnel in military uniforms stand by.

Batons: The Final Beatings

The violence extended to blunt force trauma, with videos and interviews with survivors showing people being beaten with batons. BBC News Persian verified that one protester, Saghar Seifollahi Fars, was killed in this manner. Another, Ali Taherkhani, who was initially shot, died not from the bullet wounds but from subsequent beatings with batons and gun butts, underscoring the calculated brutality employed by the security forces.

The BBC Persian analysis provides irrefutable evidence of a systematic and multi-faceted campaign of violence against protesters in Iran, involving a terrifying array of weaponry that has resulted in widespread death, injury, and terror. The deliberate use of such lethal force, ranging from military-grade machine guns to improvised machetes, signifies a profound disregard for human life and a brutal attempt to crush any form of dissent.