IRAN - 40th day memorials

IRAN - More protests

February 18, 2026:

February 18, 2026 - IRAN. More protests

On the occasion of traditional commemorations 40 days after the death

Fury Erupts on the 40th Day; Iran’s Society Pushed Beyond the Brink.
Forty days after the peak of the January uprising, the traditional mourning period has transformed into a strategic frontline for a renewed nationwide offensive. Reports from across Iran confirm that the “Chehelom” memorials for the fallen have bypassed the regime’s security cordons, evolving from somber gatherings into high-intensity political confrontations. In Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra, massive crowds alongside grieving families dismantled security barriers on February 17, chanting “By the blood of our comrades, we stand until the end.” This resurgence signals a critical failure in the state’s strategy of containment, as the barrier of fear has been replaced by a pervasive drive for accountability and the direct demand for the fall of the dictatorship.

Economic Paralysis and Market Strikes
The uprising has successfully breached the regime’s economic defenses, with the “Bazaari” class (traditional merchants) increasingly aligning with the street. In the heart of the capital, the Aladdin Passage—the primary hub for digital trade—completely shuttered its doors in a powerful show of solidarity. Simultaneously, the city of Abdanan witnessed a total market strike, bringing local commerce to a standstill. These strikes are fueled by a historic currency collapse and record-breaking inflation that has rendered the minimum wage nearly worthless. This synchronicity between the marketplace and the youth-led movement poses a terminal threat to the regime’s stability, as merchants join the ranks of the dispossessed.

Energy Bankruptcy and Regime Insecurity
As the regime struggles with a catastrophic energy imbalance, resulting in nationwide blackouts and the toxic burning of mazut in major cities, the internal anxiety of the ruling elite has become visible. In a February 17 address to security forces, the regime’s president Masoud Pezeshkian pleaded for the use of “new technologies” to prevent physical harm to officers, while simultaneously ordering that “abnormalities be suffocated in the cradle.”
This rhetoric reflects a government that no longer trusts the endurance of its rank-and-file soldiers against a populace that is literally being suffocated by pollution and starved by economic mismanagement.

The Crackdown in Schools and Peripheral Insurgency
In a desperate move to identify protesters, the regime has extended its reach into the classroom. Reports from Mashhad and Karaj indicate that security forces are conducting invasive searches of students’ phones and even physical inspections for pellet wounds under the guise of “insight-building” sessions.
Meanwhile, in peripheral towns like Mormori, the situation has devolved into a near-total breakdown of state authority. Despite a complete internet blackout and the deployment of live ammunition, local residents have reportedly raided security outposts. These localized flashpoints are forcing the regime to overextend its resources, fueling a cycle of rebellion that neither bullets nor blackouts can extinguish.

The “Black Box” Breached
Due to the total internet blackout imposed by the regime during the initial explosive weeks of the new year, critical details of the uprising’s intensity are only now reaching the public domain. Reports and footage that were suppressed for over a month are resurfacing, specifically highlighting the events of January 8 and 9. These delayed accounts reveal a phase of fierce urban warfare:
- In Mashhad’s strategic Vakilabad Boulevard, rebellious youth engaged in a tactical offensive, destroying Special Unit transport fleets and setting fire to Sepah Bank, a key financial pillar of the security apparatus.
- In Kermanshah, similar scenes unfolded in Golestan Boulevard, where protesters used fire to block the advance of suppressive forces, turning the streets into “no-go zones” for the regime.
The emergence of these reports now, in late February, has provided a second wind to the movement, as the “40th-day” memorials are being fortified by the newfound evidence of the regime’s brutality and the youth’s tactical successes in January.

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-protests/fury-erupts-on-the-40th-day-irans-society-pushed-beyond-the-brink/
https://youtu.be/9Zy4snoND50