IRAN NEWS))))))

On Sunday, February 14, 2026, Mrs. Robabeh Masouri, mother of political prisoner Saeed Masouri, passed away after years of illness compounded by the anguish of prolonged separation from her son. Under standard legal practice, prisoners in Iran are typically granted temporary leave to attend the funeral and burial ceremonies of immediate family members. However, political prisoners accused of affiliation with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) are systematically denied this basic humanitarian right. Despite repeated requests from his family, Saeed Masouri was not permitted to attend his mother’s funeral. This pattern has been repeated in other cases: political prisoners including Gholamhossein Kalbi (Sheiban Prison, Ahvaz), Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani (Mashhad), Shahrokh Daneshvar-Kar (Ghezel Hesar Prison), and Marzieh Farsi (Evin Prison) were similarly barred from attending the burial ceremonies of their parents. https://tinyurl.com/haun9t9s

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On Saturday, February 14, a group of students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences staged a sit-in to protest the escalating wave of arrests targeting university and high school students in connection with the recent nationwide protests. The Tehran Medical Students boycotted their examinations as part of the action. Participants gathered on campus and issued a formal statement condemning the detentions and expressing solidarity with those currently in custody. During the sit-in, the names of several imprisoned students were read aloud by attendees. https://tinyurl.com/5y86tw5x

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On the morning of Sunday, February 15, 2026, a female prisoner identified as Esmat Najafi was executed in Qom Prison on charges of murder. Esmat Najafi had previously been arrested on charges of murder and was subsequently sentenced to death by the regime’s criminal courts. As of the time of publication, prison authorities and relevant official bodies have not publicly announced or confirmed the execution. Many of the women executed by the Iranian regime are themselves victims of domestic violence and discriminatory family laws. A significant number have acted in self-defense. With the execution of Esmat Najafi, the number of women executed in the 2026 calendar year has risen to eight. https://tinyurl.com/4z6asspv

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Amid mounting international concern over intensified repression in the aftermath of Iran’s recent nationwide protests, Dr. Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, has issued a stark warning. In a public statement on Twitter, she disclosed that in the weeks leading up to the protests that began on December 28, 2025, she and other UN experts had sent multiple formal communications to Iranian authorities regarding several execution cases and deteriorating prison conditions. At the center of these concerns is the case of Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer sentenced to death on charges of baghi (“armed rebellion against the state”). The ruling was reportedly issued following a hearing lasting less than ten minutes. Sato noted that the primary evidence presented against Tabari consisted of a fragment of material bearing a protest slogan, raising serious concerns about the absence of due process and the violation of fair trial standards in capital cases. https://tinyurl.com/28bdnb2d

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In the aftermath of the nationwide protests in January 2026, schools across Iran have reportedly become sites of heightened security presence and ideological scrutiny. Educational institutions are increasingly hosting individuals outside the formal teaching staff, tasked with interrogating students and exerting pressure on them regarding their political and social views. According to a report compiled by the Teachers’ Coordination Council, based on testimonies from teachers, parents, and students across multiple provinces, members of the Basij militia, plainclothes security agents, and religious preachers have entered schools under what appears to be a centrally coordinated and premeditated plan. These actors are reportedly conducting targeted question-and-answer sessions with students, designed to assess and monitor their beliefs and potential involvement in recent protests. https://tinyurl.com/24hurc5c

 IRAN NEWS))))))

On the sixth consecutive day of protests, a group of students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences held a demonstration and sit-in demanding the release of detained Medical Personnel on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The protest comes amid growing dissatisfaction over security crackdowns on medical professionals and increasing restrictions imposed on activists in the healthcare sector. The protesting students strongly condemned the arrests and pressure exerted on doctors and Medical Personnel, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those detained. https://tinyurl.com/4adykkjs

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In an opinion piece for the German paper die WELT, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, argues that the current protest movement is not a repeat of earlier unrest but a “matured” phase of confrontation with the clerical system that has reached a point “from which there is no going back.” She makes clear that the idea of internal reform has effectively collapsed in public opinion, citing the 2017 slogan rejecting both “reformists” and “hardliners.” Mrs. Rajavi also dismisses foreign military intervention as an answer, arguing that strikes may damage state structures but would not bring down the regime. Instead, she said the only viable route is overthrow “by the people themselves” in tandem with an organized resistance — highlighting the role of youth and the PMOI-led Resistance Units in linking dispersed protests into a nationwide movement and raising the costs of repression. Mrs. Rajavi attributes the unrest to economic breakdown, near-45% inflation (as she writes, by the authorities’ own figures), poverty, and chronic water and energy crises, and says protests spread to roughly 400 cities. She outlines a transition roadmap: a provisional government, elections for a constituent assembly within six months, and principles including separation of religion and state, gender equality, an independent judiciary, and abolition of the death penalty. https://tinyurl.com/2bw5pdxt

 IRAN NEWS))))))

Rita Süssmuth (February 17, 1937 – February 1, 2026) stands as one of the most influential and principled figures in modern German political history—a woman whose career reshaped democratic culture, advanced gender equality, and expanded Germany’s moral voice on the global stage. As a former Federal Minister and President of the German Bundestag, Süssmuth combined intellectual rigor with deep humanity, earning respect across party lines and generations. https://tinyurl.com/4h26f7x7

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Three members of the family of Babak Alipour, a political prisoner sentenced to death, were arrested on December 27, 2025, in Tehran by Iranian security forces. Maryam Alipour (sister), Roozbeh Alipour (brother), and Omol-Banin Dehghan (mother) were detained while returning from a visit with Babak Alipour at Qezel Hesar Prison. As of the time of this report, no official information has been released regarding the arresting authority, the place of detention, or the physical and legal condition of the detained family. Sources close to the family report that since their arrest, the three individuals have been denied any phone contact or visitation with their family members. https://tinyurl.com/dh4nzejm

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Maryam Gorji, a resident of Karaj and one of those detained during Iran’s nationwide protests of 2022, has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment and fined 300 million rials, despite an official ruling stating that she is medically unfit to endure incarceration. The verdict, recently communicated to her, constitutes a stark example of the Iranian judiciary’s disregard for medical warnings and its systematic neglect of political prisoners’ right to life and access to healthcare. https://tinyurl.com/vcu598en

 IRAN NEWS))))))

Dr. Ameneh Soleimani, an Iranian doctor and director of a dermatology and cosmetic clinic in Ardabil, was arrested in recent days by security forces for admitting and treating individuals injured during protests in the city. The arrest of Dr. Ameneh Soleimani is widely viewed as part of a deliberate campaign to pressure the medical community into refusing treatment of protesters. According to reports from Iran, at least four Iranian doctors have so far been detained for assisting the injured, and no information is available regarding their whereabouts or conditions of detention. https://tinyurl.com/yjcb9krj

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At dawn on Sunday, January 25, 2026, the death sentence of a female prisoner identified as Leila Judaki was carried out at Qom Prison in Iran. Leila Judaki is the fifth woman to be executed in Iran during the first month of 2026. She had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death following proceedings in the clerical regime’s criminal courts. As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced or confirmed by prison authorities or relevant state institutions. Many of the women executed by the Iranian regime are themselves victims of domestic violence and discriminatory family laws. A significant number have acted in self-defense. https://tinyurl.com/yck8tn27

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As protests intensified, chants of “Death to the dictator” and “Freedom” echoed in more than 100 locations in Tehran and across 400 cities throughout the country. What began as economic discontent quickly evolved into open political defiance. The clerical regime responded with extreme brutality. By Ali Khamenei’s own admission, “several thousand people” were killed. According to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), more than 50,000 individuals were arrested. https://tinyurl.com/m8tbytve