{"id":345334,"date":"2026-05-26T06:38:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=345334"},"modified":"2026-05-26T06:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:54:24","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-may-25-2026-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-may-25-2026-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 May 26, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"May
May 23, 2026 \u2013 NCRI supporters in Effretikon, Switzerland, held a photo exhibition and book stall to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of the founders of the PMOI by the Shah\u2019s regime on May 25, 1972<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

UPDATE: 7:30 AM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Regime Executes Arrested Protester Abbas Akbari Amid Nationwide Surge in Death Penalties<\/h3>\n

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On the morning of Monday, May 25, the Iranian regime\u2019s executioners sent another brave, rebellious youth to the gallows. Abbas Akbari Faizabadi, a courageous son of the people of Nain who actively participated in the nationwide January uprisings, was executed on heavily fabricated charges. The judiciary condemned him for \u201cMoharebeh\u201d (waging war against God), destroying public property, and assembly and collusion against internal security.<\/p>\n

In a desperate bid to legitimize this state-sanctioned murder, the regime labeled Akbari as an \u201carmed leader\u201d of the Nain protests, alleging that he used a handgun alongside other protesters to attack the county governor\u2019s office and fire at security guards.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), praised the brave rebels who have shaken the pillars of religious fascism. She emphasized that the execution of Iran\u2019s proud youth fails to save the moribund mullahs\u2019 regime; rather, it only redoubles the anger of the Iranian people against their bloodthirsty rulers.<\/p>\n

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

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PMOI Resistance Units Honor Founders\u2019 Legacy Through Nationwide Defiance<\/h3>\n

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Despite the Iranian regime\u2019s relentless reliance on executing political prisoners to instill fear in the public, the spirit of resistance across Iran remains unbroken. Across the country, PMOI Resistance Units have launched a widespread campaign of defiance to honor the 54th anniversary of the execution of the founders of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK). Against the backdrop of the regime\u2019s brutal crackdowns, these activities demonstrate that the regime\u2019s efforts have completely backfired, and the movement is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

In highly visible and coordinated efforts, Resistance Units carried out daring activities in major cities including Tehran, Tabriz, Sanandaj, Amol, Karaj, Shiraz, Rasht, Kerman, Arak, Lahijan, and Babolsar. In the capital, activists bravely laid flower wreaths directly on the graves of PMOI founders Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Asghar Badizadegan.<\/p>\n

Activists are adopting increasingly bold tactics to send a clear message of defiance to the regime. In Tehran, units marched publicly with images of the founders. In Shiraz, armed PMOI Resistance Units held placards reading, \u201cHanif\u2019s blood is alive as the Mojahedin roar.\u201d This exact message was echoed by activists in Rasht and Lahijan.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Arms Children in Public Weapons Drills<\/h3>\n

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State-affiliated media outlets \u2014 including\u00a0Fars News Agency<\/strong>\u00a0(affiliated\u00a0to the\u00a0IRGC) and Tasnim News Agency (affiliated with the IRGC\u2019s Qods Force) \u2014 have released multiple video clips showing children being taught to handle weapons, interviewed on camera, and made to repeat regime slogans such as\u00a0\u201cWe will destroy the enemy\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0while praising the IRGC. In some gatherings, children have been fitted with banners reminiscent of the widespread deployment of child soldiers during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.<\/p>\n

On 12 April 2026,\u00a0Amnesty International<\/strong>\u00a0warned\u00a0<\/a>that the recruitment of children as young as 12 into the IRGC\u2019s military campaign constitutes a war crime under international law.<\/p>\n

One video published by Tasnim from\u00a0Eslamshahr\u00a0shows a military parade of three Shahed-136 drones \u2014 the same model used extensively in the war in Ukraine \u2014 alongside interviews with children repeating the regime\u2019s talking points.<\/p>\n

Another clip, released in mid-May by the state-run Student News Agency from\u00a0Shahrekord, depicts Basij forces conducting weapons training in a public area while children are visibly present.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, Fars News Agency aired footage from Bojn\u016brd in which military personnel are seen actively training children and teenagers in weapons handling.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Regime Strips Five Female Political Prisoners of Phone Call Rights<\/h3>\n

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The Iranian regime has punitively barred five female political prisoners held in\u00a0Evin Prison<\/a>\u00a0from making phone calls. Since yesterday,\u00a0Golrokh Iraee<\/a>, Zahra Safaei, Marzieh Farsi,\u00a0Shiva Esmaili<\/a>, and Sakineh Parvaneh have been denied access to prison telephones and the right to contact their families, in what appears to be a continuation of mounting pressure and restrictions imposed on the prisoners.<\/p>\n

The five female political prisoners had previously been denied in-person\u00a0visits with their families<\/a>\u00a0and lawyers in Evin prison, a restriction that remains in place.<\/p>\n

Ban on phone calls was reportedly imposed after the prisoners chanted protest slogans in the yard of Evin Prison in opposition to the implementation of\u00a0execution sentences<\/a>\u00a0in Iran.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran Expands Internet Control as Former State Media Chief Reveals Chinese-Style Restriction Plan<\/h3>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

New revelations from a former senior regime official have intensified concerns over the Iranian regime\u2019s accelerating efforts to impose sweeping internet restrictions modeled on China\u2019s system of digital control.<\/p>\n

Mohammad Sarafraz<\/span><\/span>, the former head of the regime\u2019s state broadcasting organization (IRIB) and a current member of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, disclosed that parts of the regime are seeking to implement a heavily restricted internet structure in which access to the global web would be limited to select, state-approved groups.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Sunday, May 24, in an interview with the online newspaper Faraz, Sarafraz said the regime had already purchased and imported equipment from\u00a0China<\/span><\/span>\u00a0designed for the \u201cpermanent shutdown of the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Sarafraz, the model being pursued mirrors China\u2019s tightly controlled digital infrastructure, where ordinary citizens face significant limitations in accessing the global internet while certain privileged groups are granted monitored and selective access. He stated that the primary objective of such a system is to ensure the dominance of the regime\u2019s \u201cofficial narrative\u201d over the country\u2019s information space.<\/p>\n

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

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The Return of SAVAK Symbols Exposes the Bankruptcy of Iran\u2019s Manufactured Monarchist Project<\/h3>\n

\"Iranian<\/p>\n

In the final years of the\u00a0Weimar Republic<\/span><\/span>, before\u00a0Adolf Hitler<\/span><\/span>\u00a0formally consolidated power, it was not only the Nazis who transformed the streets into theaters of uniforms, intimidation, and organized fear. Alongside them stood remnants of nationalist militias and extremist movements born from Germany\u2019s humiliation after World War I \u2014 forces defined less by any meaningful political vision than by nostalgia for lost authoritarian grandeur and the performance of violence.<\/p>\n

These movements rarely spoke of democracy, freedom, or genuine solutions to social and economic crisis. Instead, they weaponized fear itself, because beneath their theatrical aggression lay something deeper: humiliation, political emptiness, and the belief that they could only matter if others feared them.<\/p>\n

That historical pattern offers an unsettling parallel to the recent public display of\u00a0SAVAK<\/span><\/span>\u00a0symbols in European streets by extremist supporters aligned with\u00a0Reza Pahlavi<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

This spectacle should not be interpreted as a sign of political confidence or even a credible threat of restored authoritarian rule. Rather, it is a naked confession of the inherent bankruptcy of a security-driven and colonial-style political project built around the \u201ccrown prince\u201d (Reza Pahlavi) narrative. The waving of the emblem of an institution synonymous with some of the darkest torture chambers in modern Iranian history exposes the true nature of a movement that has abandoned any attempt to present itself as democratic.<\/p>\n

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

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Iran\u2019s Ruling Crisis Deepens as Regime Factions Clash Over Survival Strategy<\/h3>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

The Iranian regime\u2019s internal fractures are widening at an unprecedented pace as competing factions openly clash over how to confront escalating domestic and international crises. Beneath the usual displays of unity and propaganda, a deeper reality is emerging: the regime is trapped in a strategic deadlock driven by fear of social explosion, economic collapse, and the growing prospect of regime overthrow.\u00a0Recent statements by senior regime officials reveal not merely political disagreement, but a profound crisis at the core of the system itself.\u00a0Masoud Pezeshkian, the regime\u2019s president<\/span><\/span>\u00a0has increasingly framed the regime\u2019s greatest threat not as foreign military pressure, but as internal disintegration and popular unrest.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Monday, May 18, 2026, during an event titled \u201cNarrators of Iran,\u201d Pezeshkian acknowledged the severity of the regime\u2019s crises and warned against presenting a false image of stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe country \u2014 meaning the system \u2014 is facing real problems, and we should not present an unrealistic picture of conditions,\u201d he admitted. \u201cWe must honestly share realities with the people and avoid exaggerated analyses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Rising Dairy Prices Send New Shock to Lives of People in Iran<\/h3>\n

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The state-run Hamshahri newspaper published a report on May 23 regarding a new wave of price increases in dairy products. The report shows that rising dairy prices have once again entered an upward trend. According to the Dairy Products Association, increased production costs have reached a critical stage. This situation has made rising dairy prices an unavoidable outcome. At the same time, discussions over currency liberalization and supplying livestock feed with free-market currency have created additional pressure. This trend has turned rising dairy prices into one of the main issues in the food market.<\/p>\n

The increase in exchange rates and changes in the method of supplying livestock feed have raised production costs. Under such conditions, according to industry activists, rising dairy prices are the direct result of pressure on the production chain. Factory owners also speak of shrinking profit margins and pressure from the consumer market. They believe that continuation of this trend could reduce production capacity in some facilities. Amid this trend of rising dairy prices, exports have been mentioned as a compensatory option. Increased transportation costs have also contributed to higher final prices.<\/p>\n

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

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The Ekbatan Case: Official Judicial Terror in Iran<\/h3>\n

\"Abolqasem<\/p>\n

Condemning defendants (four of them to death) in Iran in the Ekbatan Case\u00a0who were previously acquitted of murder charges<\/a> or sentenced to short-term imprisonment in the Criminal Court demonstrates that the law is merely a decorative shell to legitimize judicial terror. The issuance of death sentences for four defendants in the Ekbatan Case by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court represents the most blatant form of systematic slaughter of the law and the utilization of the death penalty as a tool for political intimidation.<\/p>\n

One of the most critical dimensions of ambiguity in the Ekbatan Case was its engineered division into two parallel pathways: the criminal section in Branch 13 of Criminal Court One, and the security section in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. This segregation of legal standards created a deliberate vacuum for the apparatus of repression to advance its political objectives:<\/p>\n