{"id":329578,"date":"2025-03-18T09:25:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T08:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=329578"},"modified":"2025-03-18T16:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:58:15","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-march-18-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-news-in-brief-news\/iran-news-in-brief-march-18-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran News in Brief \u2013 March 18, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Employees of the Agricultural Jihad in Ilam, western Iran, protested on March 16, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS<\/h3>\n

UPDATE: 4:30 PM CET<\/span><\/p>\n

Donald Trump Should Be Praised for Taking On Iran \u2014 Now He Must Do Four Crucial Things<\/h3>\n

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Lightning US airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been targeting ships in the Red Sea, are in fact an overdue attack on Iran, which is the real destructive force in the region. Even President Trump was quick to note that the Houthi rebels were just a proxy force of the hated Iranian theocracy, which is known to be desperately attempting to build a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump said Iran would be held “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy, adding: “And we won’t be nice about it. Your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today. If they don’t, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before. Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Secretary Of State Marco Rubio Says Airstrikes on Iran-Backed Houthis Are “Doing the World A Favor”<\/h3>\n

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that U.S.\u00a0airstrikes<\/a>\u00a0in Yemen on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels are targeting the group’s ability to strike global shipping and attack the U.S. military, and are “doing the world a favor.”<\/p>\n

“We’re doing the entire world a favor by getting rid of these guys and their ability to strike global shipping. That’s the mission here, and it will continue until that’s carried out,”\u00a0Rubio said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

President Trump announced the strikes Saturday, saying the U.S. would use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease shipping attacks. U.S. Central Command confirmed the strike in a\u00a0social media post<\/a>\u00a0Saturday, and it’s prepared to extend the campaign on the Houthis from the air and the sea for potentially weeks depending on reaction from the Houthis and Iran, a U.S. official told CBS News.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran Terror Group Behind 20 Assassination Attempts Thwarted By MI5 Is ‘Recruiting In UK’<\/h3>\n

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Members of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) have openly infiltrated the cultural and religious centres to spy on and threaten both Iranian dissidents now based in the UK and Britain generally, the Joint Committee on Human Rights heard.\u00a0One dissident giving evidence on the scale and seriousness of the threat has been shot twice by IRGC agents and only survived a fatal bullet when the gun jammed.<\/p>\n

Hossein Abedini, Deputy Director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, told MPs and Lords at the Parliamentary committee that Iran saw Britain as a soft touch, unwilling to hit the regime with enough force to do damage and willing to allow its agents to enter and leave the UK unhindered.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Why the Focus on MEK Children Instead of Iran Regime\u2019s Child Executions?<\/h4>\n

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Michael Rubin\u2019s latest tirade against the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) is as predictable, as it is monotonous, a tired attempt to resuscitate long-debunked smears with the same desperation as Iran\u2019s regime clinging to its last breath. At this point, Rubin is plagiarizing himself by hyperlinking his own articles and parroting Tehran\u2019s official narrative with all the enthusiasm of a washed-up propagandist running out of material.<\/p>\n

For nearly two decades, I and many others have dismantled his baseless political fan fiction (in\u00a02006<\/a>,\u00a02011<\/a>,\u00a02021<\/a>,\u00a0August 2022<\/a>,\u00a0November 2022<\/a>,\u00a0January 2023<\/a>,\u00a0February 2023<\/a>,\u00a0April 2023<\/a>,\u00a0June 2023<\/a>,\u00a0October 2023<\/a>,\u00a0March 2024<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0January 2025<\/a>; also see reputable research by\u00a0academics<\/a>,\u00a0experts<\/a>,\u00a0scholars<\/a>,\u00a0political leaders<\/a>, and\u00a0observers<\/a>\u00a0around the world).<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPDATE: 9:00 AM CET<\/span><\/p>\n

How Soaring Debt Pushed Iran\u2019s Economy to The Brink<\/h3>\n

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In recent years, Iran\u2019s economy under the clerical regime has plunged into a series of deepening crises, each of which is powerful enough to shake the very foundations of an economic system. From massive, accumulated government debts and rampant inflation to an ever-growing budget deficit, widespread unemployment, and social unrest triggered by energy price hikes\u2014such as gasoline\u2014all of these indicate an economic bankruptcy that can no longer be concealed by mere slogans and empty promises.<\/p>\n

One of the clearest indicators of economic bankruptcy is the massive accumulated debt that the regime reluctantly acknowledges in small doses. during the impeachment of former Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, regime president Masoud Pezeshkian revealed that Iran\u2019s Ministry of Health alone has an outstanding debt of 900 trillion rials, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development owes 1.2 quadrillion rials, and the Social Security Organization has 1.39 quadrillion rials in accumulated debt. However, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ongoing Uncertainty Surrounding Arghavan Fallahi\u2019s Whereabouts Nearly Two Months After Arrest<\/h3>\n

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Nearly two months after the arrest of Arghavan Fallahi, there is still no information about her condition, and\u00a0she remains in a state of uncertainty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Born in 2000, Arghavan Fallahi was arrested on January 25, 2025, in Parand and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Since then, no reliable updates have emerged regarding her status, leaving her fate unknown.<\/p>\n

Fallahi had previously been arrested and was released from Evin Prison in late 2023. However, her recent re-arrest and the lack of information about her condition have raised serious concerns.\u00a0Arghavan Fallahi had been previously arrested in November 2022 alongside her father, Nasrollah Fallahi, and her brother, Ardavan Fallahi. The family was detained while traveling from\u00a0Isfahan<\/a>\u00a0to Shiraz to visit a family friend, Parvin Mirasan. They were held for over two months in Isfahan\u2019s detention centers, where they were subjected to interrogation and torture.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Minimum Wage for Iranian Workers in 2025 Announced<\/h3>\n

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According to the Iranian regime\u2019s Minister of Labor, the minimum wage for workers in 2025 has increased from 71 million rials (approximately $75) to 103.99 million rials (approximately $110). This indicates a more than 46% increase in the minimum wage.<\/p>\n

According to the state-run Mehr News Agency, Ahmad Meydari, the Iranian regime\u2019s Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, announced after the 335th session of the Supreme Labor Council that an agreement had been reached between worker representatives, the government, and employers regarding the minimum wage for workers in 2025. The final meeting was held on Saturday, March 15.<\/p>\n

Meydari stated that under the new agreement, the monthly minimum wage has risen from 71 million rials to 103.99 million rials. The housing allowance remains unchanged, and the total minimum earnings for married workers with two children have increased to 163.51 million rials (approximately $172).<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Systematic Fuel Smuggling and Corruption by Iran\u2019s IRGC<\/h3>\n

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On March 13, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the Iranian regime\u2019s judiciary, told the state-run Shabakeye Khabar (News Network): \u201cThey say a pipeline has been extended from the airport to the sea for smuggling\u2026 This can\u2019t be the work of an ordinary person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being fully aware of the scale of this disaster, Iranian regime officials\u2014from the president to the parliament speaker\u2014do not dare to name the main culprit. Masoud Pezeshkian, the regime\u2019s president, merely states that \u201ca few million liters of fuel are smuggled daily,\u201d while Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, cautiously remarks that \u201ca powerful entity is behind fuel smuggling.\u201d However, neither of them dares to mention the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC<\/a>). This silence is not due to ignorance but out of fear of the consequences of exposing a network that operates under the direct protection of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Situation of Women Prisoners in Evin Women\u2019s Prison<\/h3>\n

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Evin Women\u2019s Prison is one of the main centers for the suppression of dissident women and political activists in Iran. Located in the northwest of Tehran, this prison has long been a symbol of systematic human rights violations and the repression of opponents. Among the female prisoners held there, a significant number are elderly women, those suffering from serious illnesses, and mothers imprisoned with their children.<\/p>\n

Currently, more than ten political prisoners over the age of 60 are being held in this prison. Among them is Raheleh Rahimpour, 72, a member of the families seeking justice, who is imprisoned solely for her efforts to uncover the truth and achieve justice. Many of these women suffer from severe and chronic illnesses such as multiple sclerosis (MS), cancer, brain tumors, and diabetes. However, not only are they denied medical services, but they are also subjected to additional government pressure.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

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Southampton Book Exhibition Condemns Iran\u2019s Human Rights Abuses and Calls to Blacklist IRGC<\/h3>\n
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Southampton Exhibition Urges UK Gov. to Blacklist IRGC & End Executions in Iran\u2014March 15, 2025<\/div><\/div>
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