A 22-year-old student was shot dead by Iran’s paramilitary forces in the central Iranian city of Isfahan during the country’s war with Israel in June, a student-run newsletter reported on Thursday, citing the victim’s family.
The incident had not previously been reported.
Hooman Kiani, a student at Isfahan University of Applied Science and Technology, was returning home with a friend when their car came under fire from Basij forces, a volunteer militia under Iran’s Revolutionary Guards according to the Amir Kabir Newsletter.
“Around 11 PM, their car was stopped at a checkpoint in the Mardavij neighborhood,” the newsletter quoted a family member as saying.
“The driver stopped a little late, and the officers opened fire without any warning. Two bullets struck Hooman in the lungs and liver, and his friend was hit in the leg.”
The report said Kiani was taken to Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, where doctors performed surgery, but he did not survive his injuries.
"Emergency staff began resuscitation efforts and Hooman underwent surgery, but due to extensive bleeding and severe liver damage, he went into cardiac arrest and lost his life" the family member said.
Amir Kabir Newsletter also published a copy of Kiani’s official burial permit issued by Isfahan’s Legal Medicine Organization, which listed the cause of death as “hemorrhagic shock,” “injury to the liver and lungs” and a “gunshot wound,” with the date of death recorded as June 15, 2025.
The newsletter added the family has demanded an explanation from authorities over why Basij forces “fired directly at the car” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
In a similar incident during the 12 day war, guards at a military base in the central Iranian city of Khomein mistakenly opened fire on two civilian vehicles, killing four people on July 17. State media said the shooters were arrested and a judicial investigation was launched.
In another earlier incident, on July 2, two young men were shot dead by the Islamic Republic's security forces outside Hamedan in western Iran.
Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported that personnel opened fire on their vehicle near the Tareek-Darreh area after suspecting it of drone-related activity.
