Increase in Cold Weapon Victims in Iran

On Wednesday, May 15, the Open Data Iran database published a report on deaths caused by cold weapons in Iran. The report, based on data from the Statistical Center of Iran, shows that over the past five years, the number of deaths caused by cold weapons has increased by more than 40%, rising from over 700 in the year 1396 (2017) to over 1,000 in the year 1401 (2022). According to this data, in the first half of last year (1402), 554 people lost their lives due to cold weapons, and if this trend continued in the second half of the year (for which no statistics are yet available), the record number of cold weapon fatalities would exceed the published figures. Furthermore, a comparison of data from the Forensic Medicine Organization and the National Civil Registration Center indicates that over a six-year period, from 1396 to 1402, an average of over 437,000 deaths were recorded annually, with approximately 10% being unnatural deaths. This data also shows that among unnatural deaths, on average, over 2% were caused by cold weapons, indicating that one in every 500 deaths in Iran is due to cold weapons. The report also highlights the admission of the head of the Environmental Protection Organization that air pollution in Iran kills 26,000 people annually, the death of a specialist doctor in Shiraz due to consuming substandard alcohol, and that the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in Iran continues to claim victims. Additionally, workers remain at risk, with 414 people dying in work-related incidents in Tehran province.