Teen Shot in Heart During Iran Protests

On 8 January 2026 a 17‑year‑old Iranian student, Amir Ali Haydari, was shot in the heart and beaten to death during protests in Kermanshah, a city in eastern Iran. Haydari’s cousin, Diako Haydari, a Cardiff‑based journalist, relayed that police fired pistols at demonstrators, then struck the teenager in the head repeatedly with the butt of a firearm, leaving his brain scattered on the ground. At the Kahrizak forensic centre, bodies were piled in black plastic bags—police later claimed Haydari fell from a height. Human rights groups estimate around 650 fatalities nationwide; a Taleghani Hospital morgue received roughly 500 corpses, including Haydari’s body.