TOP STORIES
Trump, Putin Talk About Iran’s Ability to Obtain Nuclear Weapons | Fox News
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in sync when it comes to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, according to the White House. Trump and Putin, who spoke over the phone Tuesday morning about how to draw an end to the war in Ukraine, agreed that Iran must not obtain access to weapons permitting Tehran to obliterate Israel, the White House said.
Iran’s Currency Falls to One Million per Dollar After Trump Threat | Iran International
A day after US President Donald Trump warned Iran of retaliation if its Houthi allies in Yemen launched an attack, the rial sank to a historic low against major currencies. The currency was trading at one million per US dollar in Tehran on Tuesday as gold prices also rose. This represents a 14,000-fold devaluation of the rial, which had remained stable at 70 per dollar for over a decade before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Food inflation, which has averaged 100% in recent months, is expected to reach critical levels in the coming months unless Tehran initiates negotiations with the Trump administration.
A journalist from Iran who prosecutors said was the target of an assassination plot testified Tuesday that Tehran’s campaign to silence her left her feeling broken, but that she responded to every threat by planting a flower at her home in New York. “That’s why I have a beautiful, massive garden . . . because I face a lot of curses and threats,” Masih Alinejad told the jury.
UANI IN THE NEWS
With the Trump administration seeking to deport non-citizen students and professors who support American-designated terrorist organizations, fresh scrutiny is being placed on Princeton University’s employment of a former Iranian official, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who has been accused of promoting Iran’s terror agenda on American soil. “The Islamic Republic’s former ambassador to Germany works at Princeton University and attended the funeral of Qasem Soleimani in 2020. And yet he remains here on a green card,” Jason Brodsky, the policy director of Iran watchdog group, United Against Nuclear Iran, posted on X. “It's the craziest most unacceptable situation I've ever seen.”
UANI Senior Adviser Norman Roule Joins i24News to Discuss Conflict in the Middle East
Arab states and Iran condemn Israel for renewing its military campaign in the Gaza Strip. “We're in the middle of a hurricane, and the best thing to do at this point for the Arab world to just wait until this passes,” says Normal Roule.
In 2025, Iran on the World Stage Under the Trump Administration 2025 faces unprecedented diplomatic challenges, war threats, evolving international relations, renewed sanctions, oil trade complications, and uncertain future prospects. The United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) organization has published a 100-Day Plan recommending aggressive countermeasures against this illicit trade, including blacklisting Iran’s entire Ghost Fleet, strengthening maritime sanctions, and implementing public pressure campaigns against firms involved in shipping, insuring, and financing Iranian oil exports.
Iranian Official Reveals Tehran's Global Assassination Program | Tribune.gr (translated from Greek)
The federal trial in Manhattan of two alleged hitmen hired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad coincided with shocking revelations that Tehran ordered the killings of dissidents in Europe, news that could have profound implications for President Trump’s policy toward Iran. Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said: “Mohsen Rafiqdoost’s comments constitute an admission of guilt. They should be repeated every time an Iranian official gives an interview to a Western journalist denying complicity in assassination plots.”
PROTESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The Art of Freedom in Iran | Christian Science Monitor Editorial
An investigative report on Iran ordered by the United Nations Human Rights Council was delivered on Tuesday and it paints a picture of a theocratic government very much afraid of its own people. Yet despite the crackdown, Iranians from diverse social groups, especially young women, still find public ways to express freedom and equality, often through artistic life on the streets or in online forums.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
US Strikes Houthi Strongholds in Yemen Where Leaders Are Hiding, Yemeni Sources Say | Reuters
The U.S. launched airstrikes on multiple targets across Yemen overnight, including Saada province, which Yemeni sources say is a long-time hideout for Houthi leaders, and the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Houthi media reported on Wednesday. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported more than 10 strikes on various locations, including the Al-Safra district in Saada. The district, which houses weapons storage and training sites, is considered one of the group's most important and heavily fortified military strongholds, according to Yemeni sources.
Iran-backed Houthis Claim Fourth Attack Against US Warships | Arab News
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on Wednesday they launched another attack against American warships in the Red Sea, their fourth time firing on the carrier group in 72 hours. The Houthis’ military spokesperson said ‘the operation entailed “a number of cruise missiles and drones, targeting the aircraft carrier ‘USS Harry Truman’ and a number of enemy warships,” adding that the attack was “the fourth within 72 hours.”
Attacks in Gaza and Yemen Leave Iran in Confusion over Its Next Moves | Jerusalem Post
After four days of the US attacking the Houthis and one day of Israel striking Hamas in Gaza, Iran is now in confusion and doesn’t know how to respond. Tehran is concerned that the US strikes could escalate while Iran is not ready for a major confrontation. On the other hand, Iran’s supreme leader has told the country not to trust any opening from the Trump administration. This leaves Tehran in a bind.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
War Worry Mounts in Iran After Latest Trump Threat | Iran International
“The reason for the spike in foreign exchange rates is the US attack on Houthis and the expectation that Iran will be the next target,” Morteza, a businessman in Tehran, told Iran International on Tuesday. “Interestingly, people are not afraid of war although they think it is inevitable this time. They believe it will only be the government who will bear the brunt of an attack, should it materialize, and that they will come to no harm themselves,” he added.
Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the festival comes in the hours just before the Wednesday before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating off into the night sky. Others jump over and around fires, chanting “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
EUROPE & IRAN
Vienna: Iran’s European Launchpad for Covert Activities | IranWire
An Iranian lawyer and an Austrian company have been helping Islamic Republic officials circumvent sanctions and secure easy travel to Europe, according to a major Austrian newspaper investigation. Der Standard reported last week that Ramin Mirfakhraei and Blue River Holding GmbH acted as intermediaries for the Islamic Republic, assisting with visa approvals for officials, developing a Europe-Iran payment system, facilitating luxury car exports, and linking Iranian companies with European businesses. The report highlights Vienna’s role as Iran’s preferred European operational base - a relationship that has previously enabled assassination plots, terrorist activities, and sanctions evasion efforts.
TURKEY & IRAN
After decades of managing tensions through careful balancing, Turkey and Iran now find themselves increasingly at odds following recent shifts in the regional balance of power. With Ankara emboldened and Tehran on its back foot after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the struggle for influence between the two neighbors and long-time rivals is escalating in both Syria and Iraq and could spread well beyond their borders.
ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON, & IRAN
In Lebanon, Israeli Strikes Point to a Precarious Ceasefire | Reuters
As Israel resumes heavy strikes in the Gaza Strip, escalating Israeli attacks in south Lebanon have killed five Hezbollah members in the last few days, according to security sources in Lebanon, underlining the fragility of a U.S.-backed ceasefire.
GULF STATES & IRAN
As conflict between Tehran and Washington escalates and war lowers over Middle Eastern horizons, “de-risking” has become a mantra in Arab capitals astride the Persian Gulf.
We Must Find Common Ground with Iran, Says UAE’s Gargash | The National
The UAE and other Arab states must seek to emphasise common ground with Iran rather than focusing on disagreements, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, said on Tuesday.
MISCELLANEOUS
Defunding Voice of America Is a Win for China and Iran | William Galston in the Wall Street Journal
Iranian media and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s chief advisers gloated over the news that the Trump administration was gutting VOA, effectively suspending its broadcasts into Iran. Despite the Iranian government’s efforts to block these broadcasts, the Iranian audience for them has expanded dramatically in recent years. VOA’s Persian website had 223 million visits last year. Mr. Trump’s March 4 address to Congress got 1.3 million video views in Iran through VOA. Public opinion matters, which is why autocrats work so hard to manipulate it. If their citizens have no access to alternative views, autocrats are more likely to succeed—with less effort and cost. The U.S. shouldn’t play into their hands. We should mend, not end, the Voice of America.
Tucker Carlson Warns Trump Against Bombing Iran After ‘Great Force’ Threat | The Hill
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is warning President Trump against a preemptive strike against Iran after the president ordered strikes on Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East over the weekend.