THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 6:30 PM CEST
Iran: UN Expands Fact-Finding Mission’s Mandate in Landmark Development to Address Human Rights Crisis
Responding to today’s adoption of a landmark resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, which extended and broadened the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, originally established in November 2022 during the Woman Life Freedom protests, Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said: “The extension of the mandates of both the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and the Fact-Finding Mission, along with the expansion of the latter’s mandate, is a critical, long-awaited response to the persistent demands for justice from survivors, victims’ families and human rights defenders in Iran and in exile. Crucially, by no longer being limited to the 2022 Woman-Life-Freedom protests, the Mission can now investigate other recent or ongoing serious human rights violations and crimes under international law, ensuring that international scrutiny is not confined to a single chapter of repression, but that it addresses continuous patterns of serious violations.”
UPDATE: 12:00 PM CEST
US Sends F-35s to Middle East as Strikes on Houthis Continue
The U.S. military has deployed more of its most advanced fighter jets to the Middle East as it continues to strike Yemen’s Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed terrorist group attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, according to multiple congressional aides.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dispatched the extra air wing of F-35 fighters to Jordan, a close partner in the region but one publicly shy about hosting American military equipment, according to one aide, who, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
The fifth-generation F-35A is the Air Force’s premier fighter, which includes stealth capabilities and advanced sensors and can carry a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground guided weaponry.
Iranian Company and Two Iranian Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and for Scheme to Procure U.S. Technology for Iranian Attack Drones
A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Hossein Akbari, 63, and Reza Amidi, 62, both of Iran, and an Iranian company, Rah Roshd Company (Rah Roshd), with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones), conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC – a designated foreign terrorist organization – and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Akbari is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rah Roshd. Amidi is the company’s commercial manager and was previously the commercial manager of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company. They are both citizens of Iran and remain at large.
“Today’s charges lay bare how U.S.-made technology ended up in the hands of the Iranian military to build attack drones,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to put maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. We will relentlessly dismantle illicit supply chains funneling American technology into the hands of Iran’s military and terrorist organizations and pursue those complicit in operations that threaten our country.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Remarks at FinCEN Iran Maximum Pressure and Counter Terrorism (IMPACT) Exchange Series
Thank you, Andrea, for your kind introduction. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here today, and especially a warm thanks for all those that traveled to Washington for today’s event.
Your participation today underscores our critical goal of protecting our national security while continuing to strengthen our economy. Economic security and national security go hand-in-hand. Public-private partnerships like today’s event are vital to safeguarding our financial system against threats posed by Iran’s illicit activities.
I also want to be clear about President Trump’s America First Agenda and, correspondingly, Treasury’s priorities on national security. As I said at the Economic Club of New York, “America First” is a holistic agenda that I believe will improve the lives of every American. To get there, I firmly believe in empowering our nation’s banks—from the global systemically important banks present here today—to Main Street lenders that are responsible for financing our local economies. There are multiple factors at play to carry out the America First agenda, but one of those is to ensure the world’s premier financial system is simply inaccessible to those that undermine world order.
Military Confrontation ‘Almost Inevitable’ if Iran Nuclear Talks Fail: French FM
“In the event of failure, a military confrontation would appear to be almost inevitable,” Jean-Noel Barrot said in parliament, adding that it would severely destabilise the region.
Earlier Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be bombed if it persists in developing nuclear weapons. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has promised to hit back.
“Our confidence and our conviction remain intact,” Barrot said. “Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.”
UPDATE: 8:30 AM CEST
Iran’s Rebellious Target Regime Centers of Corruption and Crime to Mark New Persian Year
On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Iran’s rebellious youth continued their campaigns against the regime, targeting the regime’s centers of repression and corruption to mark Sizdah Bedar, reiterating the slogans “Fire answers fire” and “No to shah no to mullahs.” (Sizdah Bedar is a traditional Iranian festival celebrated on the 13th day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian calendar).
In one of these campaigns, the rebellious youth carried out 15 operations in 14 cities under the slogan “Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the mullahs,” striking centers of suppression and repression as follows:
The Claims Made by Refling Are False and Based on Regime Propaganda.
In her article in Utrop, Solmaz Refling attempts to respond to the piece titled “Iran must look forward – not back to the Shah’s dictatorship.” The authors of that article highlight the crimes committed by the Pahlavi dictatorship in Iran and point out that the Shah’s son has never distanced himself from his father’s crimes. On the contrary, he has supported some of the most brutal figures from the Shah’s intelligence agency, SAVAK—such as Parviz Sabeti, the former deputy head of SAVAK, notorious for his inventive torture methods against political prisoners in Iran.
Reza Pahlavi has also admitted to having contacts with the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), the main force responsible for massacres of protesters and civilians in Iran. Furthermore, he has expressed a desire to rely on the IRGC to ensure “Iran’s security” after the fall of the mullahs. For all these reasons, he is not considered a democratic alternative by the Iranian people.
The Bankruptcy of Iran’s Pension Funds: Corruption, Mismanagement, and Military Control
Iran’s pension funds are in crisis, with millions of retirees struggling to receive their pensions. Protests by retirees have become a regular occurrence, highlighting the deep-rooted economic and structural problems plaguing these funds.
The state-run news website Bahar News recently reported on the dire situation, revealing that in the past year alone, retirees held over 70 protest rallies—an average of six per month. Among them, telecommunications retirees led the demonstrations with at least 22 rallies, followed by social security and steel industry retirees, who held 17 and 11 protests, respectively.
U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Leaders Signal Renewed Pressure on Iran
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a full hearing to discuss strategies for countering the Iranian regime’s malign activities. Committee Chairman Brian Mast and Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Michael Lawler delivered forceful remarks emphasizing a return to the “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Kicking off the session, Chairman Brian Mast issued a stern warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “President Trump will work with you to peacefully end your nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, or President Trump will destroy your nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. You get to choose the remedy, Ayatollah.”
This direct and uncompromising stance set the tone for the hearing, reinforcing the administration’s intent to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities by any means necessary.
Trump’s Warning Puts Iran on High Alert
On March 30, Business Standard published a report titled “Iran Puts Missiles on Alert Following Donald Trump’s Warning of Massive Strikes.”
Following Donald Trump’s threat, Iran has activated its missiles in underground facilities across the country, keeping them in a launch-ready state and resistant to aerial attacks.
Beyond military threats, Trump also suggested reimplementing secondary tariffs against Iran and its trade partners. According to the U.S. president, the final decision on these economic measures depends on Tehran’s response in the coming weeks.
Exhibition in Zurich Condemns Human Rights Violations in Iran and Backs NCRI as a Democratic Alternative
Zurich, Switzerland – March 31, 2025: An exhibition was organized to condemn human rights violations in Iran, with a particular focus on the brutal repression of political dissent. The event highlighted the alarming use of the death penalty against political prisoners, especially those affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Supporters of the PMOI exposed the Iranian regime’s systematic persecution and called for an end to executions and the immediate release of imprisoned dissidents.
Exhibition in #Zurich Condemns #HumanRightsViolations in #Iran and Backs NCRI as a Democratic Alternative #No2ShahNo2Mullahs #NCRIAlternative #FreeIran2025 https://t.co/oaI70Tmjoh
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) April 2, 2025
The organizers reiterated their commitment to establishing a democratic republic in Iran, firmly rejecting both the current theocratic regime and any potential return to monarchy under the Shah. They also expressed their support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable democratic alternative and endorsed the Ten-Point Plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI, as a roadmap for a free and democratic Iran.