{"id":342721,"date":"2026-02-18T07:28:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=342721"},"modified":"2026-02-18T20:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:35:18","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-february-18-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-election\/iran-election-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-february-18-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 February 18, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Malm\u00f6 \u2014 MEK supporters rally in support of Iran’s uprising, call for an end to executions\u2014 February 14, 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h3>\n

UPDATE: 08:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Satellite Images Show Iran Repairing and Fortifying Sites Amid US Tensions<\/h3>\n

Feb 18 (Reuters) – Satellite images show that\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covered it in soil, experts say, advancing work at a location reportedly bombed by Israel in 2024 amid tensions with the U.S.<\/p>\n

Images also show that Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a\u00a0nuclear site<\/a>\u00a0bombed by the U.S. during Israel’s\u00a012-day war<\/a>\u00a0with Iran last year, fortified tunnel entrances near another, and has repaired missile bases struck in the conflict.<\/p>\n

They offer a glimpse of Iranian activities at some of the sites at the centre of tensions with Israel and the U.S., as Washington seeks to\u00a0negotiate a deal<\/a>\u00a0with Tehran on its nuclear programme while threatening military action if talks fail.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 02:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Deliberate Targeting of Vital Body Parts\u2019: X-Rays Taken after Iran Protests Expose Extent of Catastrophic Injuries<\/h3>\n

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Across the planes of Anahita\u2019s* face, white dots shine like a constellation. Some gleam from inside the sockets of her eyes, others are scattered over the young woman\u2019s chin, forehead, cheekbones. A few float over the dark expanse of her brain.\u00a0Each dot represents a metal sphere, about 2-5mm in size, fired from the barrel of a shotgun and revealed by the X-ray camera for a CT scan. Shot from a distance, the projectiles, known as \u201cbirdshot\u201d, spray widely, losing some of their momentum. At close range, they can\u00a0crack bone<\/a>, blast through the soft tissue of the face, and easily pierce the eyeball\u2019s delicate globe. Anahita, who is in her early 20s, has lost at least one eye, possibly both.<\/p>\n

The image of Anahita\u2019s head is one of more than 75 sets of medical images \u2013 primarily X-rays and CT scans \u2013 shared with the Guardian from one hospital in a major city in Iran, taken over the course of a single evening during the regime\u2019s\u00a0January crackdown on protesters<\/a>. The plain, grayscale images tell their own story of the deadly violence inflicted on protesters and onlookers by Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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India Seizes Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Tankers Amid Trade Thaw with U.S.<\/h3>\n

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India\u2019s Coast Guard has seized three tankers sanctioned by the U.S. that it says were involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfers off its western coast, a move that analysts said marks New Delhi\u2019s first direct support of\u00a0U.S. efforts to crack down on the so-called dark fleet\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The vessels were intercepted on Feb. 6 about 100 nautical miles northwest of Mumbai and were part of an \u201cinternational oil-smuggling racket,\u201d the Coast Guard said in an Instagram post. The tankers are now anchored off Mumbai and under investigation, a spokesman said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Analysts said the seizures reflect a recent thaw in relations with Washington after a standoff over India\u2019s large-scale purchases of Russian crude following Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 09:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Ayatollah Falls, Key to Iran’s Future Rests on Three Key Realities \u2013 Not Crowd Numbers<\/h3>\n

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Periods of political strain invariably produce contending claimants to leadership. Iran today is living through such a moment. Economic hardship, continuing unrest and an embattled regime have made political change less conjectural than it once seemed. That, in turn, has encouraged a familiar phenomenon: aspiring leaders try to turn visibility into authority, hoping that attention abroad will be mistaken for legitimacy at home. In such circumstances, it is worth stating a simple rule. Credibility is cumulative. It is earned through evidence, organisation and discipline, not through slogans, staged moments or statistics that collapse under scrutiny. The standard is a demanding one, precisely because the stakes are so high.<\/p>\n

A recent episode in Munich offered an instructive case study. On the margins of the city\u2019s Security Conference, a rally was promoted by supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah, as proof of a surging public mandate. Within hours, sympathetic networks were circulating an attendance figure attributed to the Munich Police: 250,000 people. The number travelled rapidly across social media and was presented as though it settled a political argument.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 08:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

40 Days On: Tribute to the Heroes of the January 2026 Uprising<\/h3>\n

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To the mothers, fathers, families, and compatriots across Iran who, on the fortieth day since the loss of your children, stand in mourning and in defiance. This fortieth day of that sea of blood, this fortieth day of that national sacrifice, this fortieth day of that immense price paid for freedom, is a day to renew our pledge to carry the fallen\u2019s uprising through to victory. In these forty days, these forty days of tears, anger, and the searing grief of an entire people, Khamenei and his hated circle, with bloodstained hands, have waged an unrelenting campaign of arrests, interrogations, and torture against tens of thousands of young people, against those seized during the uprising. They have detained nurses and doctors whose only act was to heal the wounded.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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40th-Day Memorials Become the New Frontline of Iran\u2019s Uprising Against the Regime<\/h3>\n

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The uprising that erupted across Iran on December 28, 2025, has undergone a profound transformation. What began with shopkeepers shuttering their stores over the collapsing rial has evolved into a nationwide political movement challenging the very foundations of the clerical regime. Now, 40 days after the regime\u2019s crackdown left thousnads dead, the traditional end of mourning has become the beginning of a new offensive. In Iranian culture, the 40th day after a death\u2014known as Chehelom\u2014traditionally marks the end of mourning. Families usually remove their black garments, and life returns to normal. However, for the martyrs of the January 2026 uprising, this tradition has been inverted.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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Parisa Kamali: Political Prisoner Sends Message Honoring the Fallen in the January 2026 Uprising<\/h3>\n

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Parisa Kamali, a political prisoner currently held in Yazd Prison, has sent a message from behind bars marking the fortieth day of remembrance for those killed in the January 2026 uprising in Iran. In her statement, released despite ongoing restrictions on her communication, Parisa Kamali reaffirmed her commitment to continued resistance and the organized struggle for freedom. Kamali is serving a prison sentence in Yazd and, according to reports, faces multiple limitations while incarcerated. In her statement, Kamali honored those killed during the protests and stressed the determination of demonstrators to carry their cause forward.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran Students Protest; Retirees Rally as Bodies Remain Unidentified<\/h3>\n

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Fresh protests by medical students in Tehran draw support from retirees, while human rights sources say authorities still have not identified several women killed in Iran\u2019s January 2026 crackdown. Despite official claims that stability has returned following the January 2026 crackdown, fresh signs of unrest are emerging across Iran. Medical students have taken to the streets in Tehran, retirees have voiced solidarity, and human rights sources say authorities still have not clarified the identities of several women killed during previous protests. Together, these developments suggest that the tensions underlying the winter unrest have not fully subsided.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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The IRGC is Trying to Wipe Traces of its Crimes During Nationwide Protests<\/h3>\n

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While the full dimensions of the repression of Iran\u2019s nationwide uprising, a crime of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have yet to be fully clarified and the number of those killed in the January 2026 uprising continues to rise each day, CNN revealed a shocking account in a recent interview. The interview was broadcast on February 12. Its main focus was a raid by security forces on the home of an Iranian photojournalist. She has documented protests and scenes of repression for years. She now says that agents stormed her apartment and confiscated all her equipment. Many view this action as part of the IRGC\u2019s effort to destroy evidence.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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Gothenburg Rally Backs Iran Uprising, Democratic Republic, and Accountability for Regime Leaders<\/h3>\n
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Gothenburg Rally for Iran Uprising | No to Shah, No to Mullahs | Feb 14, 2026<\/div><\/div>
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