‘They left her to bleed’: Iranian expat says her aunt was killed in Tehran protests

An Iranian expat speaks about receiving news that her aunt had been shot and killed while protesting in Iran. Adrian Ghobrial reports.

As Global Affairs Canada issues a clear warning to Canadians in Iran to get out of the country immediately, Iranian expats have been left to watch the deadly chaos from afar.

“It’s very emotional. I’m trying not to cry,” says Yasaman from a park bench in Toronto.

The 34-year-old Iranian woman received a WhatsApp message from her cousin in Iran this week sharing the news that her aunt had been killed while protesting in Tehran. Yasaman, who asked that only her first name be used to protect her family in Iran, shares that her aunt, a women in her early sixties, was shot in the leg.

“They tried to bring her to a hospital, but the supreme leader’s military is in the hospitals, and the doctors are not allowed to operate on protestors, so they left her to bleed to death,” shares a teary eyed Yasaman.

Yasaman left Iran as a teenager. For years she’s been fearful of speaking out; but the killing of her countrymen and women in the streets of Iran by security forces has spurred her to give voice to the decades of oppression in her homeland.

“This is about human rights,” she says, “Many of the doctors have been detained because they tried to help civilians injured by government forces during the protests.”

The protests in Iran broke out on December 28th triggered by a currency collapse as sanctions put a stranglehold on the country’s economy. Since then, more than 2,400 protesters have been killed since Iran cracked down on the anti-government protests which began just over two weeks ago, according to U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

This week, Iran’s judiciary head signaled that trials for imprisoned protestors and execution orders would be fast-tracked. Shortly after, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that he had received assurances that the killings in Iran have ended.

Many Iranians in Canada believe the time for the international community to act is now.

“We need help, we don’t need talk and promises. We’ve tried many times to win this battle on our own, and every time we get very, very close. But then they start killing thousands. And that’s why they’ve managed to stay in power for so long,” says Yasaman.

While Trump has publicly softened his rhetoric against Iran over the last 24-hours, a military response could be imminent. On Wednesday, some personal at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate.

“The fact that the U.S. has pulled out some of their troops in Qatar is indicative that they think that threat is real,” says Ret’d Major-General David Fraser who adds that the United States may “have some intelligence and they probably have plans to attack Iran. What are they going to attack? It could be military sites; it could be infrastructure. We should expect something.”

This comes following confirmation that a Canadian citizen has died in Iran “at the hands of the Iranian authorities,” Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted on X Thursday, without providing additional details about the incident.

“Our consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada and my deepest condolences are with them at this time,” Anand said.

“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people – asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations – has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” Anand said. “This violence must end. Canada condemns and calls for an immediate end to the Iranian regime’s violence.”

For Yasaman, the situation in Iran has hit a tipping point. “I’m not sure how many more people can die before help arrives there” she says.