The past week has been marked by intense diplomatic contact between the regime and the United States/Israel while the repression of the domestic protest movement is absolute.
February 11 marked Iran’s 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The regime organized military parades and official commemorations with flags and anti-USA slogans. Ali Khamenei rejected in a speech the United States’ demands to limit Iran’s missile program and called it a “red line” for the country’s defense.
Beneath the surface, discontent simmers
Opposition sources report a boycott of the 47th anniversary of the revolution, and from balconies and alleyways anti-regime slogans continue to resound such as “Death to the dictator” and “Long live the Shah.”
The United States is intensifying pressure on Iran. President Donald Trump met Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 11 to discuss strategy. He is also ensuring that Khamenei lies as sleepless as possible at night.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 President Trump says he could reveal Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei’s location “live on air.”
“If I were the Supreme Leader of Iran, I would be afraid to sleep in the same place for too long.” pic.twitter.com/8wGwp3Zo2U
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) February 15, 2026
Trump has sent the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and several destroyers to the Persian Gulf in the largest American military build-up in the region since the Gulf War.
BREAKING: US deploys its MIGHTIEST carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (90+ fighter jets capable), to Middle East, joining USS Abraham Lincoln off Iran’s coast!
Negotiations with Tehran ongoing… while the world’s largest naval hammer parks right next door. pic.twitter.com/lTkkMGRNrU
— Jurisam (@jurisamlegal) February 13, 2026
Trump repeated the threat of “swift and violent” action if Iran does not agree to demands for zero enrichment, missile limitations, and an end to support for proxy groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
BREAKING: Lebanese Sunni scholar Sheikh Hassan Moraib says “Hezbollah, Iran and their proxies have killed more of our brothers than Israel did in Gaza.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) February 18, 2026
Iran rejects the demands categorically. Khamenei and defense adviser Ali Shamkhani called the missile program “a fixed part of Iran’s defense” and refuse to negotiate over it. Indirect talks continue in Oman. Iran so far offers only limited concessions on the nuclear program. Russia and China support Iran diplomatically, and the three countries met in Vienna for discussions on the nuclear program – presumably to prevent escalation.
Iran’s president claims that China has failed them economically:
🇮🇷🇨🇳 Iran’s President Signals China has Abandoned Them Financially
Masoud Pezeshkian: “ China was supposed to finance many things. They didn’t come.” pic.twitter.com/N9P7jl7eot
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) February 18, 2026
The protest movement from December 2025 has been militarily crushed, but the same cannot be said of the discontent with the regime. Last week there were sporadic student protests at universities in Tehran and Mashhad with chants of “Reza Pahlavi” and regime change. 40-day commemorations (chehelom) for the victims of the massacres on January 8–9 fell on February 17 and 18 and entailed a heavy security presence at the gravesites – and new arrests.
🔴 Marvdasht, Iran. Tue Feb 17
Reportedly this is in Marvdasht.
Iranians gathered for the 40th day of the fallen/murdered heroes.People seized the opportunity to chant against the Islamic republic. “Death to Khamenei”
Islamic republic has NO legitimacy in Iran. pic.twitter.com/c9Mj4ondXF
— Savakzadeh (@Savakzadeh) February 18, 2026
The exile leader, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, addressed around 250,000 Iranians in Munich. He was received like a pop star and hero, with tears, weeping, and jubilation. He emphasized that the regime is “on the way toward collapse” and called for international support for a transition to secular rule. For very many Iranians he symbolizes a transitional figure or an alternative to the theocratic system.
15/2/2025 #Munchen #Munich
Iranians gathering in #Munich to show their support for their leader, #KingRezaPahlavi. @MunSecConf“Reza, Reza Pahlavi is our leader” “King Reza Pahlavi”#JavidShah pic.twitter.com/c0OJ8COKbS
— Darya – Daughter Of Cyrus (@D62Darya) February 15, 2025
In Toronto, according to divergent estimates, anywhere from 350,000 to 750,000 participated in the demonstration. The event was praised by Ontario’s Premier as “the largest and most civilized” demonstration of its kind.
– They gave roses to the police officers and after the demonstration was over, they cleaned trash from the streets. Everyone who wishes to express their opinion in a democratic society should learn from the Iranian community.
Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, in a conversation with a reporter from Global News, praised the Iranian community and described their recent gathering in Toronto on the “Global Day of Action”—which he said drew more than 350,000 participants—as “the largest and most civilized”… pic.twitter.com/Lzox5asjcw
— Darya Safai MP (@SafaiDarya) February 18, 2026
The Queen of Persia
Reza Pahlavi’s daughter, Princess Noor, spoke during the event in Los Angeles. Purely hypothetically she could become Queen of Iran; in that case it would be the first time Persia has had a female ruler with any form of executive power since Queen Boran held power in 632 AD. It was a chaotic transitional period before the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the Arabs in 651 AD. Since then – for over 1,400 years – no woman has been head of state in Iran/Persia.
🚨 NEW: Iran’s Crown Princess, Her Royal Highness Noor Pahlavi (@NoorPahlavi), the eldest child of Iran’s exiled Shah, His Majesty Reza Shah Pahlavi II (@PahlaviReza), has addressed the largest rally of Iranians in Los Angeles history, with LAPD reporting 350,000 participants. pic.twitter.com/gE2BVx9dkY
— Rayan Amiri (@realRayanAmiri) February 15, 2026
In Los Angeles many demonstrators were injured in a regime-loyal truck attack against Pahlavi supporters. The truck bore a banner with the inscription “No Shah.” The driver was later apprehended by the police.
BREAKING:
Many wounded in a truck attack against Pahlavi supporters in Los Angeles.
The truck had a banner on it saying “No Shah” pic.twitter.com/12H2lc13x2
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 12, 2026
Explosions and fires
Iran has recently experienced an unusually high frequency of fires and explosions in industrial facilities, military installations, markets, and power plants. Official sources explain the incidents as accidents: short circuits, gas leaks, waste catching fire, poor maintenance, negligence.
Satellite images and publicly available sources show that several of the affected facilities are strategically important, often linked to weapons production, IRGC bases, energy infrastructure – which weakens the narrative of coincidence. It was recently reported that there was a power outage across all of Tehran.
🚨 BREAKING: Power outage across Tehran in Iran
— Tousi TV (@TousiTVOfficial) February 18, 2026
Opposition media, exile-Iranian accounts, and certain Western analyses suggest that the high number of fires may be the result of coordinated sabotage – but concrete evidence is not available.
🚨 BREAKING: Multiple Attacks In Iran – IRGC Bases On Fire
WATCH: https://t.co/Au8HonR8Wu pic.twitter.com/3eATGrByDC
— Tousi TV (@TousiTVOfficial) February 18, 2026
The regime shows signs of weakening. Relatives of those killed are spreading personal information about the executioners and at times they are made to pay:
Seyed Mojtaba Ahouei is a reported islamic terrorist who participated in the massacre.
That was a big mistake.
The family of one of his victims tracked down Mojtaba’s shop, and proceeded to beat both him and his wife senseless in revenge. He was narrowly saved by other… pic.twitter.com/KW7HjFGmNi
— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 🇮🇷 ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) February 18, 2026
Iran International quotes President Masoud Pezeshkian urging the authorities to “treat the disease” instead of “erasing the problem.” He added that officials are there “to solve people’s problems, not to increase their burdens” and that “the societal mentality is wounded.”
ویدیوی رسیده به ایران اینترنشنال نشان میدهد مردم تهرانسر در استان تهران شامگاه شنبه از خانههای خود شعار «مرگ بر دیکتاتور» سر دادند. pic.twitter.com/GA03w5d6rt
— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) February 14, 2026
According to Iran International there were raids and mass arrests in a village called Chenar in Western Iran early Monday, February 16: Security forces surrounded the village with armored vehicles and arrested hundreds of residents. The arrests are said to be linked to active protests in January.
The hunting season in #Iran has reached even the smallest villages.
From the early hours of Monday, 27 Bahman (February 16), armored and security vehicles stormed the village of #Chenar in Asadabad, in Hamadan Province. By noon the same day, after spreading terror, firing shots… pic.twitter.com/uzgL4ryWBW
— Ehsan AriaN 🇮🇷 (@E_Aria_N) February 16, 2026
Double standards appear to be the regime’s last constant. While the regime is willing to kill women who do not cover themselves properly, a leaked video shows Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani leading his daughter in a strapless wedding dress with her hair loose and visible.
Iranian women like Mahsa Amini are killed over morality laws.
But the rules don’t apply for the regime.
Senior advisor to Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, led his daughter down the aisle in a strapless wedding dress with her hair on display at her wedding.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) January 30, 2026
– My daughter is dead and all I think about is whether they slit her throat before they shot her in the head.
In the 278th black bag I found my son. A hole in the heart and a hole in the forehead – and two eyes in which one could still see the fear.
From our back alley there no longer come sounds of conversation and laughter. The children lie still in the cold earth in distant cemeteries. The neighbor’s two seven- or eight-year-old children woke up on the morning of the twentieth and did not see their parents. They lay still in Kahrizak.
My daughter is dead
and all I keep thinking is, did they slit her throat first, or did they shoot her in the head?In the two hundred and seventy-eighth black bag I opened, I found my son.
A hole in his heart and a hole in his forehead,
and two eyes in which you could… https://t.co/HfdAJJ95cN— Sativa (@Sativa888) February 4, 2026
Protestene i Iran, dag 45: FN gratulerer Iran med 47-årsjubileet for den islamske revolusjon