Iran’s uprising continues: Regime crimes against humanity met with unyielding defiance

2026-02-20 - 20:33

One month after the nationwide protests swept across Iran in late December 2025, the government’s violent crackdown continues unabated. In an interview with El Pais,U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Mai Sato, confirmed in mid-February 2026 that arbitrary arrests, heavy security presence in the streets, and the searching of bystanders’ cell phones “are still happening.” While the regime’s National Security Council claims a death toll of 3,117—categorizing 690 of the victims as “terrorists” according to the Foreign Minister—Sato noted that the actual figure is likely much higher than the official count, emphasizing the unprecedented scale of a protest movement that has reached every province and mobilized ordinary citizens. The Scale of the Slaughter and State Extortion The scale of the arrests remains heavily disputed. Official statements from mid-January cited roughly 3,000 detentions, but the real figures are much higher. Sato highlighted extensive reports of forced disappearances, sexual abuse, and torture in detention centers, which in some cases has led to death. Furthermore, a nationwide extortion campaign is being enforced against grieving families. Sato confirmed that authorities are withholding the bodies of dead protesters until their families either pay between $3,000 and $7,000 or sign fabricated documents stating their loved ones were security personnel killed by protesters. War on Youth: The Regime Targets Children The demographics of the uprising have deeply alarmed Iranian authorities, particularly the widespread involvement of children and teenagers. The spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s Education and Research Commission acknowledged that, on average, 17 percent of the detained protesters were youth. In certain provinces, this figure soared to 45 percent for the under-20 demographic, with the spokesperson admitting that “in some schools, a whole class participated in the riots completely.” This heavy-handed targeting of minors prompted a statement from UNICEF. Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder expressed deep concern over detained children, demanding independent access to assess their well-being and urging their immediate release, warning of the “life-lasting consequences” of such deprivation of liberty. The Unconquered Spirit: Commemorations as Protest Despite the severe suppression, the Iranian public continues to mobilize. On February 20, 2026, citizens across multiple provinces held 40th-day memorial ceremonies for the martyrs of the uprising, gatherings which rapidly transformed into new anti-regime protests. In Mashhad, at the memorial for martyr Hamid Mahdavi, crowds chanted, “We didn’t give dead to compromise and praise the murderous leader,” alongside “Death to Khamenei.” At Azad University in Najafabad, Isfahan, students gathered to honor the fallen, chanting, “Cannon, tank, machine gun no longer work; tell my mother she no longer has a son,” and, “For every person killed, a thousand stand behind them.” Similar acts of defiance occurred in Hashtgerd, where citizens swore on the blood of martyr Mehran Salimi to “stand to the end,” and in Shiraz, where locals laid flowers at the exact site where Saeed Tavakolian was killed. Other ceremonies honored martyrs Esmail Khorousha in Borazjan, Taha Naderi in Shahreza, and Ali Asghar Mohammadi in Chamestan, Mazandaran, echoing a unified chant: “This fallen flower is a gift to the homeland.” The current environment of sustained defiance traces its roots to December 28, 2025. The unrest initially began as an economic strike by shopkeepers in Tehran, protesting the collapse of the national currency, soaring inflation, and fears of bankruptcy. By December 29, the strikes reached the Tehran Grand Bazaar. Almost immediately, grievances over the rial’s plunge shifted to calls for regime change across the country and all sectors of life. The Iranian regime’s response to systemic economic failure and societal collapse has been characterized entirely by lethal force, mass incarceration, and the extortion of grieving families. However, the continuation of public protests disguised as memorials, the refusal of families to stay silent despite heavy financial and psychological abuse, and the sheer volume of youth participation indicate a critical shift. The government’s reliance on brute force has failed to quell the unrest; rather, it has galvanized a nationwide resolve. The barrier of fear has been irrevocably shattered, and the Iranian people have made it clear that they will not settle for anything less than the overthrow of the corrupt and murderous regime.