{"id":342923,"date":"2026-02-23T07:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=342923"},"modified":"2026-02-23T17:27:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:27:57","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-february-23-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-election\/iran-election-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-february-23-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 February 23, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MEK motorcyclist Resistance Units paraded in Tehran on February 20, 2026, carrying NLA emblems and a banner reading: \u201cWe can and we must\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

UPDATE: 05:00 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man Who Decapitated Wife and Paraded Her Head Through Streets ‘Pardoned’ By Parents<\/h3>\n

\"daily-express-logo\"<\/p>\n

An Iranian man who beheaded his wife and paraded her severed head through the streets has been sentenced to eight years in prison. He avoided a harsher penalty after her parents reportedly decided not to invoke Iran’s Islamic law of retribution.\u00a0According to court proceedings, Mona Heydari, a mother of one, was only 17\u00a0when she was pulled from a vehicle<\/a>\u00a0outside her family home and killed in February 2022.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Sajjad Heydari, along with his brother Heydar,\u00a0committed the brutal murder<\/a>\u00a0in Ahvaz, the capital of the southwestern Khuzestan Province.<\/p>\n

A judiciary spokesperson confirmed that the lenient sentence was given because Mona’s parents had “pardoned” him for the killing instead of demanding retribution.<\/p>\n

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

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UPDATE: 12:30 PM CET<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Iran Execution Machine\u2019 In Overdrive: Opposition Group Claims 353 Hanged in a Month<\/h3>\n

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Iran\u2019s opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on Saturday alleged that at least 353 prisoners were executed across the country during the Iranian month of Bahman (January 21\u2013February 19), describing it as an unprecedented surge under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on February 21, the NCRI claimed that the total number of executions carried out over the past 11 months has reached at least 2,587, a figure it termed the highest since 1988. The coalition said the rise reflects what it called the regime\u2019s increasing reliance on capital punishment.<\/p>\n

According to the NCRI statement, executions during Bahman were reported in 31 provinces and 65 cities. Razavi Khorasan province topped the list with 42 executions, followed by Lorestan (26), Khuzestan (22), Isfahan (20), Fars and Kerman (17 each), and Mazandaran (16).<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Unrest Escalates as Gunfire, Tear Gas Hit Universities Amid Looming US Strike<\/h3>\n

\"Fox-News\"<\/p>\n

Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital.<\/p>\n

Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed during\u00a0January\u2019s nationwide anti-government demonstrations<\/a>\u00a0before violence broke out.<\/p>\n

Ali Safavi, a member of Iran\u2019s Parliament-in-Exile, the\u00a0National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a>\u00a0(NCRI), told Fox News Digital anti-government protests at the University of Tehran featured chants such as, “This is the year of blood,” and noted that Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot at protesters at another location in the city.<\/p>\n

“At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students trampled on Khamenei\u2019s picture, while similar acts took place at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities,” Safavi said.<\/p>\n

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

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

Iranian Students Rise in Multiple Cities, Commemorating Uprising Martyrs and Defying Regime Forces<\/h3>\n

\"Tehran,<\/p>\n

On February 22, 2026, a massive wave of anti-regime protests swept through Iranian universities for the second consecutive day. Across the country\u2019s most prominent academic institutions, students boycotted classes and took to the campuses, chanting slogans that categorically rejected all forms of dictatorship. The demonstrations spanned major universities in the capital, including Tehran University, Amir Kabir, Khajeh Nasir, Iran University of Science and Technology, Sharif, Beheshti, and the Art University, as well as Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities in the northeastern city of Mashhad.<\/p>\n

At Tehran University, the country\u2019s oldest and largest academic institution, the core message of the protests was unmistakable. Massive crowds of students chanted, \u201cDeath to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader,\u201d and \u201cNeither monarchy, nor mullahs\u2019 rule; yes to democracy and equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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New Criminal Case Opened Against Political Prisoner Forough Taghipour in Evin Prison<\/h3>\n

\"Political-prisoner-Forough-Taghipour-min\"<\/p>\n

Forough Taghipour, a political prisoner held in the women\u2019s ward of Evin Prison, is facing a newly opened judicial case and the imposition of severe communication restrictions. The measures come amid reports of escalating security pressure on political detainees aimed at forcing them into silence and compliance. Forough Taghipour was recently served with an official notice informing her of a new judicial case initiated against her while she remains incarcerated. The notice requires her to appear via video conference on February 22 before Branch 2 of the Prosecutor\u2019s Office in District 33, known as \u201cMoghaddas,\u201d for interrogation on the charge of \u201cpropaganda against the state within prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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New Phase of Judicial Repression in Iran \u2013 Part 2<\/h3>\n

\"Ghezel<\/p>\n

Amid the killing of protesters during the January 2026 uprising and following the relative decline of street demonstrations, repression entered a new phase. Parallel to large-scale arrest operations, security forces and Revolutionary Guard units carried out coordinated night raids on homes, workplaces, and universities, initiating a renewed wave of violent detentions. Numerous arrests were conducted without judicial warrants, and detainees were transferred to undisclosed locations. In many instances, families remained unaware of their whereabouts for days. Subsequent accounts indicate the transfer of detainees to unofficial and so-called \u201ctemporary\u201d detention facilities; centers operating outside the formal registry of prisons.<\/p>\n

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

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MEK Supporters in Copenhagen Honor Iran\u2019s Uprising Martyrs, Demand a Democratic Republic<\/h3>\n
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MEK Supporters in Copenhagen Honor Iran\u2019s Uprising Martyrs, Demand a Democratic Republic - Video 1<\/div><\/div>
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