Bay Area Iranian community reacts to protests, mass killings by government in Iran

""What's going on right now in Iran isn't a protest like many still think it is. It's a full-scale revolution," said Eemon Malek-Madani."

""They're gunning down people in the streets by the hundreds at a time. We got a report that there were 1600 bodies in Isfahan. There were 1,000 dead bodies in Kahrizak hospital," said Arman Mahmoudi."

""You're living in a country where you don't have much to live for. You work your hardest and get a degree, there's no jobs. Even if you get a job, there's inflation and people can't feed their families," said Mahmoudi."

""It's definitely different this time. It's definitely different. We are going to take our country back. I know that for a fact," he said."

Millions of Iranians have taken to the streets since the end of December demanding an end to the Islamic dictatorship. Security forces have cracked down on protesters, and some human rights groups estimate as many as 12,000 killed. Local activists report mass shootings and large numbers of bodies found in cities and hospitals. Iranian Americans in the Bay Area have close ties to friends and family in Iran and have held rallies through groups such as BayArea4Iran. Protesters cite economic hardship, unemployment, inflation, and lack of opportunity as core grievances driving the uprising.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco