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UPDATE: 7:30 PM CET
Trump Warns Iran Over Houthi Attacks Amid U.S. Airstrikes in Yemen
As U.S. airstrikes continue to target Iranian regime-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran, holding it directly responsible for the group’s ongoing attacks on international shipping.
In a Truth Social post on March 17, Trump declared that “every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as a shot fired by Iran”, emphasizing that his administration would retaliate against the regime in Tehran should the attacks persist. He accused the regime of orchestrating the Houthi assaults on merchant vessels, supplying the group with weapons, funding, intelligence, and military equipment while pretending to be a mere bystander.
The Houthis have launched over 100 attacks on cargo ships since November 2023, sinking at least two vessels and killing four sailors, according to U.S. intelligence. The group claims to be targeting Israeli-linked vessels but Washington argues the attacks pose a broader threat to global trade.
The Trump administration’s recent airstrikes—which killed at least 53 people over the weekend, including civilians—represent a significant escalation from the Biden-era approach, which previously sought to contain the Houthis without full-scale retaliation. Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the strikes, stating, “We’re doing the entire world a favor by getting rid of these guys and their ability to strike global shipping.”
UPDATE: 11:30 AM CET
Waltz Says U.S. Could Hit Iranian Targets in Yemen Next
National security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday that the U.S. could hit Iranian targets in Yemen as part of its military campaign against the Houthis.
Why it matters: President Trump ordered strikes across Yemen on Saturday which killed at least 31 people, according to Houthi affiliated media, and which Waltz claimed “hit multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.” Waltz made clear the U.S. is willing to target not just the Iran-backed Houthis, but targets more directly linked to Iran.
- He said that targets that “will be on the table” include Iranian ships near the Yemeni coast that help the Houthis in gathering intelligence, Iranian military trainers, and “other things they have put in to help the Houthis attack the global economy.”
The big picture: Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal.
US Strikes ‘Took Out’ Multiple Houthi Leaders: National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
The United States airstrikes that bombarded Yemen over the weekend targeted and “took out” multiple leaders of the Iranian-backed Houthis, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Waltz argued to co-anchor Martha Raddatz that these latest strikes differed from the countless strikes former President Joe Biden’s administration launched against the rebel group, explaining that President Donald Trump’s administration has taken the extra step of designating the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization.
“These were not kind of pinprick, back and forth — what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks,” Waltz said. “This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out. And the difference here is, one, going after the Houthi leadership, and two, holding Iran responsible.”
Joe Biden let Iran-backed rebels target American sailors and threaten international commerce.
President Trump has sent a clear message: America will no longer tolerate threats from Iran and its proxies. pic.twitter.com/kZUHyhP6H2
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 16, 2025
‘All Options Are on The Table’ When It Comes To Iran, Mike Waltz Says
Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, on Sunday did not rule out the use of force against Iran, either in relation to its support for Yemen’s Houthis or its potential development of a nuclear weapon. Speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Waltz told host Martha Raddatz: “All actions are always on the table with the president. But Iran needs to hear him loud and clear.”
Waltz’s remarks about Yemen followed Saturday’s U.S. strikes against the Houthi rebels, who have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and attempted attacks against Israel.
On Sunday, according to ABC News, Iranian Gen. Hossein Salami denied the Houthis are backed by Iran while also saying his country would offer a “decisive and devastating response to any threat” against it.
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET
The Disconnect Between Iranian Universities and The Job Market
The mullahs’ regime in Iran has led Iranian universities to produce the highest gender gap and the highest unemployment rate among university graduates.
The ruling clerics view universities not as academic institutions but as ideological, seminarian, and instruments of regime control. As a result, universities in Iran, much like other scientific, cultural, and specialized domains, are never in their rightful and proper place. Consequently, the output of such universities fails to contribute meaningfully to politics, economy, culture, and science for the advancement of Iranian society. The clerical regime sees universities as just another governmental branch and expects the same kind of efficiency and yield from them.
A university graduate in Iran, having come from an environment constantly monitored by the regime’s ideological-political apparatus, enters a society where the primary issues are livelihood and high prices. However, before anything else, this graduate must secure a job to sustain a living cycle. According to a March 6 report by the Iran Open Data website, over 27.2% of university graduates are unemployed. In such a society, what real value does the institution of the university hold for such a society?
Rouhani’s Desperate Plea for Negotiations Amid Crisis in Iran’s Regime
After the letter from the U.S. president to the Iranian regime and Ali Khamenei’s remarks on March 12, Hassan Rouhani, the former president of the regime, once again raised the internal debate within the crisis-ridden regime over whether to negotiate or not.
Khamenei himself addressed this debate on March 12, saying: “Some people inside the country keep amplifying the issue of negotiations, asking why we don’t respond, why we don’t negotiate, why we don’t sit down with America. Let me tell you, if the goal of negotiations is to lift sanctions, negotiations with this U.S. administration will not lift sanctions. In fact, they will make the sanctions more complicated, increase pressure, and negotiating with this administration will only intensify the pressure.”
Thus, the Supreme Leader once again crushed the hopes of those advocating for negotiations. However, 48 hours later, Hassan Rouhani, the former president—who has been sidelined following his disqualification from the Assembly of Experts elections and a series of attacks and threats of prosecution and imprisonment—stepped into the debate, alarmed by the regime’s “critical” and “difficult” situation. Emphasizing the economic crisis and growing public dissatisfaction, he once again called for negotiations.
Nowruz 1404: A Festive Season Overshadowed by Economic Hardship
As Iran approaches Nowruz 1404, the traditional vibrancy of the holiday season has been eclipsed by an unprecedented economic recession. Skyrocketing prices, declining purchasing power, and a sharp drop in demand have stripped the markets of their festive atmosphere, leaving shopkeepers and consumers struggling alike.
In recent days, social media has been flooded with videos capturing the grim reality of Iran’s markets, from food and clothing to household appliances. Business owners lament the slump in sales, while families report having to forgo essential and consumer goods due to soaring costs. Even a recent report from the Parliament Research Center acknowledges the growing phenomenon of “poor workers”—individuals who, despite being employed, remain trapped in poverty.
Iranian Resistance Units Protest Masoud Pezeshkian’s Visit to Varamin
In a bold display of defiance against the Iranian regime, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) Resistance Units carried out extensive protest activities coinciding with the visit of regime president Masoud Pezeshkian to Varamin in Tehran Province. Their actions—distributing leaflets and writing anti-regime slogans on walls—were a direct rejection of his presence and a condemnation of his role in human rights abuses and executions.
Throughout various parts of Varamin, slogans and graffiti emerged, demanding Pezeshkian’s immediate resignation and departure. Residents, who have long suffered under the regime’s repression, viewed his visit as a provocation. Some of the prominent slogans included:
Two Women Executed in Urmia Central Prison: Mojgan Azarpisheh and Kowsar Baghernejad
At dawn on Sunday, March 16, 2025, two women were executed in Urmia Central Prison. The victims were identified as Mojgan Azarpisheh, 31, from Urmia, and Kowsar Baghernejad, 24, from Naqadeh.
Both Mojgan Azarpisheh and Kowsar Baghernejad had been convicted of premeditated murder in separate cases and were previously sentenced to death by the Iranian regime’s judiciary. Mojgan Azarpisheh had been imprisoned for six years, while Kowsar Baghernejad had spent four years behind bars, awaiting execution.
With the execution of these two women, Mojgan Azarpisheh and Kowsar Baghernejad, the number of women executed in Iran in 2025 reaches seven.
Tehran Housing Prices Surge: Average Price Per Square Meter Reaches $1,100
The state-run Etemad Online website reported on Saturday, March 15, regarding the real estate market in Iran’s capital, stating: “Field observations and a review of listed advertisements on websites show that the average price per square meter of housing in various areas of Tehran has surpassed 1.03 billion rials (approximately 1,084 dollars).”
The report, noting that “in recent months, Tehran’s housing market has witnessed a significant price increase,” states that “the average housing price in Tehran, based on listings on real estate platforms, rose from approximately 950 million rials in September 2024 to 990 million rials by November, 1.01 billion rials by January 2025, and 1.03 billion rials by February.”
Pharmacists and Doctors Concerned Over the Impact of Rising Drug Prices and Shortages in Iran
The rise in drug prices in Iran, ranging from 50 to 400 percent, has once again made headlines. What deeply concerns doctors is the long-term impact of the pharmaceutical sector’s instability on public health.
Many patients must pay for their medications out of pocket. Regarding “hard-to-treat diseases,” individuals register with the Social Security Organization, health services, or the National Health Fund. Once approved, they are “tagged” in the system, but the annual medication cost coverage is capped at 2 billion rials (approximately 2,100 dollars).
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical experts report that a single chemotherapy course can cost up to 10 billion rials (approximately 10,526 dollars).
Systematic Fuel Smuggling by the IRGC and Khamenei’s Protective Shield
Fuel smuggling by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is part of its long-standing exploitation of the nation’s resources to sustain the rule of the Supreme Leader. On March 13, 2025, Iran’s state-run news network aired remarks by Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of the judiciary, in which he vaguely addressed corruption: “They say a pipeline runs from the airport straight to the sea for smuggling… This isn’t something an ordinary person could do.” However, one question remains unanswered: Who is behind this massive plunder? How does a regime claiming to monitor even the smallest details appear incapable or unwilling to expose this blatant theft? The answer is clear—the survival of the ruling establishment depends on secrecy.
Paris Exhibition Exposes Iranian Regime’s Human Rights Violations, Calls for Global Action
Paris, March 15, 2025 – Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition in Paris to shed light on the Iranian regime’s escalating human rights violations and express solidarity with the ongoing Iranian Revolution.
#Paris Exhibition Exposes Iranian Regime’s #HumanRightsViolations, Calls for Global Action #Iran #StopExecutionsInIran #FreePoliticalPrisoners #FreeIran2025https://t.co/WwQYbu5F17
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) March 16, 2025
The event featured a striking display of photographs and literature documenting the regime’s oppression, particularly the sharp rise in executions targeting political prisoners, many linked to the PMOI. Cases of arbitrary arrests, torture, and death sentences underscored the dire state of human rights in Iran.
MEK Supporters in Bucharest Stand in Solidarity with Iranian Revolution, Condemn Regime’s Executions
Bucharest, Romania – March 15, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held an exhibition to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution and condemn the Iranian regime’s increasing use of executions.
Iranian Resistance Supporters Hold Exhibition in Los Angeles Against Executions and for Democracy
Los Angeles, California – March 15, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized an exhibition to express solidarity with the Iranian Revolution and denounce the regime’s growing use of executions.
Iranian Resistance Supporters Hold Exhibition in Los Angeles Against Executions and for Democracy #HumanRightsViolations #StopExecutionsInIran #FreePoliticalPrisoners #FreeIran2025https://t.co/JVIbgTrAMz
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) March 16, 2025
As part of the “No to Execution” campaign, participants called for an end to human rights violations and demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran. They also strongly condemned the death sentences imposed on PMOI-affiliated political prisoners.