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18 Feb 2026, 16:01

🔸Reports and images received from Iran indicate that during the memorial ceremony for the victims of the protests in December, thousands gathered at the graves of the victims of the widespread killings by the Islamic Republic's security forces, commemorating their memory while chanting slogans against the authorities of the Islamic Republic. Simultaneously, the institutions of the Islamic Republic held government ceremonies in Tehran and some other cities to commemorate the fortieth day of the deceased protesters on January 18 and 19, attended by government officials and selected individuals.
@VahidHeadline

🔸On Wednesday, February 29, the CEO of Behesht Zahra Organization stated that during the December protests, the bodies of 1,124 victims were brought to this cemetery in Tehran, claiming that this number is "the entry to Behesht Zahra, not the death toll of Tehran." Mohammad Javad Tajik said, "Some of these individuals were killed in other counties, and since their residence was in Tehran, they were buried in Behesht Zahra. For example, from Alborz province and some northern provinces, a total of 31 bodies came from other provinces. Some of the bodies were also from the surrounding counties of Tehran." He also announced that 613 corpses were sent to the surrounding counties of Tehran and other provinces, and 511 corpses of the protesters were buried in Behesht Zahra. He categorized the victims of the December protests into two groups: "martyrs" and "combatants," adding that government institutions "have not yet specifically declared anyone as a combatant." After the bloody crackdown on the protests of January 18 and 19, which human rights organizations say resulted in the deaths of thousands, the media and officials of the Islamic Republic initially attributed everything to "terrorists." This narrative has changed in recent days. After Masoud Pezeshkian referred to the "deceived youth" as protesters, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on February 28, emphasized that the "innocent people" killed during the crackdown on the December protests are martyrs, stating, "No matter where the bullet came from, this happened in the enemy's sedition, and they are martyrs." This was the first time a government official implicitly acknowledged that the bullets fired at protesting people might have come "from anywhere." The CEO of Behesht Zahra also denied receiving money from the relatives of the deceased under the title of "bullet rights" and regarding some reports about the mass burial of the deceased, stated: "Fundamentally, we do not have mass graves in Iran that we would want to have in Behesht Zahra."
@VahidHeadline

🔸Simultaneously with the new round of negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the United States in Geneva, the Iranian government, as part of a military exercise, temporarily halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz for several hours. This action was taken amid reports from Israeli sources about the readiness of the U.S. and Israel for a scenario of failed negotiations. The government website Tasnim reported that in the second phase of the "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz" exercise, the passage of vessels was prohibited for several hours. Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, announced that with the issuance of the "clear" status, vessels must remain behind the Strait of Hormuz.
@VahidHeadline

🔸Reuters, citing satellite images, reported that the Islamic Republic has recently built a concrete shield over new facilities in the Parchin complex, about 30 kilometers southeast of Tehran, and covered it with soil. The news agency also referred to a January 29 report from the Institute for Science and International Security, adding that satellite images from late January show new efforts to bury two tunnel entrances in the Isfahan complex, which the U.S. bombed in June. According to the report from February 9 by this institute, filling the tunnel entrances could reduce the impact of any potential airstrike and also make ground access in special operations to seize or destroy highly enriched uranium more difficult.
@VahidOOnLine

🔸The Lebanese Hezbollah group rejected the decision of the Lebanese government to give at least four months for the army to advance to the second phase of a comprehensive disarmament plan, stating that it will not accept what it considers "an action in service of Israel."
@VahidHeadline

🔸Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States to end the war in Ukraine concluded without any progress. These talks, held in Geneva, lasted for long hours on Tuesday but only lasted two hours on Wednesday. Although Steve Vitkoff, the U.S. envoy, expressed optimism about the negotiations, both Russia and Ukraine stated that the talks were "difficult."
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