Iran 'killed 16,500 protesters and injured more than 300,000' as Supreme Leader delivers televised address on bloodshed

He said they are foreign-backed agitators and declared the violence was caused by armed "rioters".

On January 18, an Iranian official said authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed, including about 500 security personnel.

However, doctors inside Iran say the situation is far worse than being claimed, according to a new medical report seen by The Times.

Medical staff indicate that the severity of the injuries demonstrates a concerning escalation by the authorities.

Previous protests were dispersed with rubber bullets and pellet guns.

This time around, doctors report extensive gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head, neck and chest, in line with military-grade weapons.

Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon who helped coordinate the doctors' report, said: "This is a whole new level of brutality.

"This is genocide under the cover of digital darkness. They said they would kill until this stops, and that's what they are doing."

Data sources from eight major eye hospitals and 16 emergency departments suggest between 16,500 and 18,000 people have been killed, and up to 360,000 were injured, including children and pregnant women.

This data has not been independently confirmed, but a US-based rights group, HRANA, said on January 17 that the death toll had hit 3,308, with a further 4,382 cases under review.

Ayatollah Khamenei acknowledged that thousands of people had been killed, some in an "inhuman, savage manner".

He said: "Those linked to Israel and US caused massive damage and killed several thousand," as his supporters chanted "death to America, death to England".

He accused Donald Trump of direct involvement in the deaths, labelling the US President as a "criminal".

He said: "We consider the US President guilty, both for the casualties, for the damages, and for the slander he made against the Iranian nation.

"The nature of the sedition, this sedition was American, it was clear. The Americans planned and acted.

"The aim of the Americans - and I am stating this clearly and unequivocally with forty-odd years of experience in the Islamic Republic - is to swallow Iran."

In response, the US President called for the end of Ayatollah Khamenei's nearly 40-year reign.

Mr Trump told Politico: "The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people. His country is the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership. It's time to look for new leadership in Iran."

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