New Era for Iran Is Within Reach

Last week marked the start of a new year on the Persian calendar. As Iranians throughout the world celebrate Nowruz, many are expressing confidence that it will lead to a new era for their homeland. Meanwhile, Western concerns persist over the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program, with President Trump setting a clear red line.

The recent stepped-up attacks by the Houthis in Yemen over the past week have, once again, made it clear that the head of the snake of war and terror in the region lies in Tehran.

When President Trump issued a warning to the Iranian regime that its terrorism in Yemen must stop, it was a clear indication that Iran’s ruling mullahs are the epicenter of terror.

The Iranian people have experienced the mullahs’ destructive agenda firsthand and are calling for an end to the rule of the ruthless rulers of Iran.

Earlier this month, thousands of Iranian Americans held a rally in Washington, D.C., to urge more assertive policies that might constrain that program while supporting the Iranian people’s desire for regime change and democracy, with no need for foreign boots on the ground or appropriation of money.

At the heart of that activism is a nationwide network of “Resistance Units” affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) – the country’s leading pro-democracy opposition group and the main constituent of a coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the NCRI, addressed the March 8 rally in D.C. virtually to send a clear message that now is the time for change in Iran and the Iranian people are committed to doing it.

One of the two pillars of the regime’s strategy for staying in power is to foster a climate of terror and repression in Iranian society. Toward that end, the judiciary has overseen a surge of executions that claimed 1,000 executions in 2024 – and the surge continues in 2025.

Yet all of this has proven ineffective, as illustrated by the ongoing growth of Resistance Units’ activities and ongoing strikes and protests by people from different social strata who are all equally frustrated with a faltering economy and growing impoverishment.

After losing much of their influence with their proxies in the region, the cornered mullahs have further relied on pursuing nuclear weapons as the only way out and have accelerated the production of highly enriched uranium and, most importantly, the weaponization of the nuclear program that from the inception was intended to obtain nuclear weapons.

Fortunately, Western nations have largely abandoned the old policy of appeasement by the West. The Trump administration has resorted to a maximum pressure policy, vividly indicating that the new administration has realized the fallacy of concessions and appeasement. That should immediately become the basis for all Western policy toward Tehran, expanding the Trump administration’s strategy of maximum pressure to include public recognition of the Iranian people’s resistance and their right to regime change.

In an online congressional testimony on February 26, Maryam Rajavi underscored that the Resistance is not seeking the West to deploy troops or provide financial or military aid. Instead, the rights of the Iranian people to change their repressive rulers and the right of the Resistance Units to confront the terrorist IRGC must be recognized.

Last month, over 160 bipartisan U.S. lawmakers for H.Res.166, which supports the Ten-Point Platform for the Future of Iran introduced by Mrs. Rajavi that calls for universal right to vote, free elections, a market economy, and separation of religion and state, and advocates gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, peace in the Middle East, and a nonnuclear Republic of Iran.

A real Nowruz, or “new day” in Iran, has never been more tangible, and the world should welcome the opportunity. A democratic, free, non-nuclear, and non-belligerent republic, Iran would play a significant role in transforming Iran from the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism to a source and guarantee for peace and tranquility in the region.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave Macmillan: New York), is best known for revealing the nuclear sites in Natanz and Arak, which triggered the IAEA inspection of Iranian sites. He is the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He is on X at @A_Jafarzadeh.