Iran Discusses Islamic Jihad's Comprehensive Plan for a Strong Response

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iran Discusses Islamic Jihad's Comprehensive Plan for a Strong Response

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian movement of Islamic Jihad Ziad Nakhaleh (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran said the Islamic Jihad movement has a comprehensive plan to direct a solid and effective response against Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian held a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani on the latest developments in Gaza and the situation in the region.

"The Palestinian resistance has prepared a comprehensive plan to deliver a strong and effective response to the latest crimes by the Zionist regime," said Amirabdollahian.

The Iranian foreign minister also pointed to his contact with the secretary general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Ziad Nakhalah.

Nakhaleh visited Tehran last Tuesday and met Amirabdollahian, among other Iranian officials. The Foreign Minister underlined Iran's determination to stick to its principled and unchangeable policy to support the Palestinian cause and the resistance of the Palestinian people against Israel's aggression and expansionist policies.

Nakhaleh praised Iran's powerful, effective, and constructive role in regional issues, expressing regret over efforts by some countries to pressure Iran.

The Islamic Jihad's secretary-general also presented a report on the latest developments in Palestine and said Palestinian groups must preserve their unity and solidarity to bolster the Islamic resistance of the Palestinian people.

IRGC-affiliated media quoted the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, as saying during his meeting with Nakhaleh: "We are with you on this path until the end – and let Palestine and the Palestinians know that they are not alone."

"The Israelis will pay yet another heavy price for their recent crime," he added, according to Tasnim agency. The commander of the IRGC's al-Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, said on Friday that at least 15 operations "are carried out against the positions of the al-Quds occupying regime (Israel) every day, as they (Zionists) have built fences even inside the settlements for fear of their lives."

Qaani asserted that Iran would by no means ignore the vicious and criminal acts of the enemies anywhere in the region.

He pointed out the constant decline of the Israeli regime. Nakhaleh also met with Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday.

The Palestinian official said Iran has a remarkable presence in the region and that the resistance forces in Gaza maintain their strength and capabilities. Iran's Supreme Leader's adviser Ali Akbar Velayati described the relations between Tehran and Islamic Jihad as "close and serious."

The state-run ISNA news agency reported that Velayati and Nakhaleh discussed the situations in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

Nakhaleh reiterated that the enemies and the US had adopted a "very weak" policy in the face of Iran's influence, claiming that Tehran plays a very influential role in the region.

The Iranian media did not mention the objectives of Nakhaleh's visit to Iran. However, some reports indicated an increase in tension between Tehran and Tel Aviv and the possibility of Iranian nuclear facilities being subjected to an Israeli strike.



Türkiye: Ocalan Announces ‘Integration Phase’

Members of the Kurdish community take part in a protest calling for the release of convicted Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in Diyarbakir on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP)
Members of the Kurdish community take part in a protest calling for the release of convicted Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in Diyarbakir on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP)
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Türkiye: Ocalan Announces ‘Integration Phase’

Members of the Kurdish community take part in a protest calling for the release of convicted Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in Diyarbakir on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP)
Members of the Kurdish community take part in a protest calling for the release of convicted Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan in Diyarbakir on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP)

The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, Abdullah Ocalan, has said that the Ankara-PKK peace process has entered its “second phase,” as the Turkish parliament sets the stage to vote on a draft report proposing legal reforms tied to peace efforts.

A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), including lawmakers Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar, and Ocalan’s lawyer Ozgur Faik, met with the jailed PKK leader on Monday on the secluded Imrali island.

Sancar said that the second phase will be focused on democratic integration into
Türkiye’s political system.

According to the lawmaker, the PKK leader considered the first phase the “negative dimension” concerned with ending the decades-old conflict between the armed group and Ankara.

“Now we are facing the positive phase,” Ocalan said, “the integration phase is the positive phase; it is the phase of construction.”

For the second phase to be implemented, Ocalan called on Turkish authorities to provide conditions that would allow him to put his “theoretical and practical capacity” to work.

The 60-page draft report on peace with the PKK was completed by a five-member writing team, which is chaired by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, and is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday.

The report is organized into seven sections.

In July last year, Ocalan said the group's armed struggle against Türkiye has ended and called for a full shift to democratic politics.


Iranians Chant Slogans Against Supreme Leader at Memorials for Slain Protesters

An Iranian man holds the Iranian national flag during a memorial ceremony for those killed in anti-government protests earlier last month, at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian man holds the Iranian national flag during a memorial ceremony for those killed in anti-government protests earlier last month, at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iranians Chant Slogans Against Supreme Leader at Memorials for Slain Protesters

An Iranian man holds the Iranian national flag during a memorial ceremony for those killed in anti-government protests earlier last month, at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian man holds the Iranian national flag during a memorial ceremony for those killed in anti-government protests earlier last month, at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, 17 February 2026. (EPA)

Iranians shouted slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday as they gathered to commemorate protesters killed in a crackdown on nationwide demonstrations that rights groups said left thousands dead, according to videos verified by AFP.

The country's clerical authorities also staged a commemoration in the capital Tehran to mark the 40th day since the deaths at the peak of the protests on January 8 and 9.

Officials acknowledge more than 3,000 people died during the unrest, but attribute the violence to "terrorist acts", while rights groups say many more thousands of people were killed, shot dead by security forces in a violent crackdown.

The protests, sparked by anger over the rising cost of living before exploding in size and anti-government fervor, subsided after the crackdown, but in recent days Iranians have chanted slogans from the relative safety of homes and rooftops at night.

On Tuesday, videos verified by AFP showed crowds gathering at memorials for some of those killed again shouting slogans against the theocratic government in place since the 1979 revolution.

In videos geolocated by AFP shared on social media, a crowd in Abadan in western Iran holds up flowers and commemorative photos of a young man as they shout "death to Khamenei" and "long live the shah", in support of the ousted monarchy.

Another video from the same city shows people running in panic from the sounds of shots, though it wasn't immediately clear if they were from live fire.

In the northeastern city of Mashhad a crowd in the street chanted, "One person killed, thousands have his back", another verified video showed.

Gatherings also took place in other parts of the country, according to videos shared by rights groups.

- Official commemorations -

At the government-organized memorial in Tehran crowds carried Iranian flags and portraits of those killed as nationalist songs played and chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" echoed through the Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended a similar event at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

Authorities have accused sworn enemies the United States and Israel of fueling "foreign-instigated riots", saying they hijacked peaceful protests with killings and vandalism.

Senior officials, including First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Revolutionary Guards commander Esmail Qaani, attended the ceremony.

"Those who supported rioters and terrorists are criminals and will face the consequences," Qaani said, according to Tasnim news agency.

International organizations have said evidence shows Iranian security forces targeted protesters with live fire under the cover of an internet blackout.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 killings in the crackdown, the vast majority protesters, though rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher.

More than 53,500 people have been arrested in the ongoing crackdown, HRANA added, with rights groups warning protesters could face execution.

Tuesday's gatherings coincided with a second round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States in Geneva, amid heightened tensions after Washington deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following Iran's crackdown on the protests.


Independent UN Body Condemns ‘Vicious Attacks’ on UN Expert on Palestinian Rights

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese looks on at the end of a press conference on the human rights situation in Gaza in Geneva on September 15, 2025. (AFP)
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese looks on at the end of a press conference on the human rights situation in Gaza in Geneva on September 15, 2025. (AFP)
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Independent UN Body Condemns ‘Vicious Attacks’ on UN Expert on Palestinian Rights

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese looks on at the end of a press conference on the human rights situation in Gaza in Geneva on September 15, 2025. (AFP)
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese looks on at the end of a press conference on the human rights situation in Gaza in Geneva on September 15, 2025. (AFP)

An ‌independent United Nations body on Tuesday condemned what it described as vicious attacks based on disinformation by several European ministers against the organization's special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese.

In the past week several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, called for Albanese’s resignation over her alleged criticism of Israel. Albanese, an Italian lawyer, denies making the remarks.

On Friday, the Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Petr Macinka quoted Albanese on X as having called Israel a "common enemy of humanity", and he ‌also called for ‌her resignation.

A transcript of Albanese's remarks ‌made ⁠in Doha on ⁠February 7 seen by Reuters did not characterize Israel in this way, although she has consistently criticized the country in the past over the Gaza conflict.

The UN Coordination Committee - a body of six independent experts which coordinates and facilitates the work of Special Rapporteurs - accused European ministers of relying on "manufactured ⁠facts".

"Instead of demanding Ms. Albanese's resignation ‌for performing her mandate...these government representatives ‌should join forces to hold accountable, including before the International Criminal Court, ‌leaders and officials accused of committing war crimes and ‌crimes against humanity in Gaza," the Committee said.

It said the pressure exerted on Albanese was part of an increasing trend of politically motivated and malicious attacks against independent human rights experts, UN officials ‌and judges of international courts.

US President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Albanese after she wrote ⁠letters ⁠to US companies accusing them of contributing to gross human rights violations by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.

UN experts are commissioned by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent of the organization itself.

There is no precedent for removing a special rapporteur during their term, although diplomats said that states on the 47-member council could in theory propose a motion to do so.

However, they said strong support for Palestinian rights within the body means that such a motion was unlikely to pass.