Aleshtar – Direct fire by Iranian forces leaves two dead, one in coma

Hengaw – Saturday, August 9, 2025

Two men were killed and a woman was seriously injured after armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran opened fire at a checkpoint at the entrance to Aleshtar, in Lorestan Province. The victims were identified as Iman Bagheri and Amir Hossein Rezaei. Rezaei’s wife sustained critical injuries and is currently in a coma under intensive medical care.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on the evening of Friday, August 8, 2025, both men were targeted with direct fire by police forces while in their vehicles at the city’s entrance checkpoint.

A source told Hengaw that officers stationed at the checkpoint opened fire on Bagheri’s vehicle, killing him instantly. The source added that another vehicle traveling behind Bagheri’s—carrying Amir Hossein Rezaei and his wife—was also shot at directly. Rezaei died shortly after being transferred to the hospital, while his wife suffered severe injuries and remains in a coma at Ashayer Hospital in Khorramabad.

Notably, Rezaei himself was a member of the police force of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was traveling with his wife when the incident occurred.

State-affiliated media claimed that “officers at the Aleshtar checkpoint were attacked by an individual armed with a pistol and a knife.” They reported that in the ensuing exchange, the “attacker” was killed, and a passing vehicle was also shot at, resulting in the driver’s death before reaching the hospital.

However, local sources and eyewitnesses told Hengaw that Bagheri was unarmed. They stated that state media falsely presented Rezaei’s service-issued pistol as belonging to Bagheri in order to conceal the truth. The official account of “an armed individual attacking the checkpoint with a pistol and a knife” was described as a distorted and inverted version of events.

Immediately after the incident, the police commander, the governor’s office, and the intelligence department of Aleshtar issued a sweeping order prohibiting any reporting on the case. Local social media administrators were placed under direct pressure to prevent the publication of information or the truth about the incident.

The checkpoint in question was established following the outbreak of the Iran–Israel war, and that incidents of indiscriminate shootings have risen sharply since the beginning of the conflict.