Alireza Jafarzadeh
Appearances
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
It's 100%, to be honest with you, because the Houthis, also known as al-Sarallah, were actually a creation of Tehran. There were no Houthis some 25 years ago. And the father, Badreddin, along with two sons, Hossein and Abd al-Malik, they went to Iran, to Om, where the religious schools are there near Tehran.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And they spent at least one year in Qom, getting all kinds of trainings from then, and then came back to Yemen. First started as a sort of like a benign looking movement. They even participated in some parliamentary elections. And since 2004, the order came that now is the time and they got engaged into major confrontations with the central government there.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And since then, what is now known as the Houthis has become a creation of Tehran, both in terms of army. sponsoring, funding, providing guidance, intelligence, all kinds of training provided to them. And that's why, I mean, similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon, I would say this is like the Herald version of Hezbollah, and the names are pretty similar, Ansarallah and Hezbollah.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And their area of operation obviously is in Yemen, but they get a lot of their trainings, not necessarily in Yemen or not even not necessarily in Tehran or Iranian cities, rather some of that is provided to them in Lebanon or was provided to them in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Also, some of the trainings took place in Najaf, by the Iran regime's proxies, the Hashtag Shabia and others.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Well, I think what the regime was doing was basically nurturing them in the beginning because they had no real foundation. They had no real support there. So they wanted to give them some kind of a footing there. And then gradually this process turned them into an anti-American entity. That's the model they use in Lebanon and in other places around the world.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
But also at the same time, Tehran fails. that the outside world is really not responding to the regime's terrorism. They have a pretty much free way to go. In Iraq, in 2003 was the invasion and then the regime managed to build an extensive structure in Iraq that within a few years, they were pretty much dominating.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And you may recall that in Iraq, the number one killer of American forces were what they called the EFPs, explosive before projectiles or penetrators, that penetrates through armor.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And I worked with Fox and we did a special in 2007, I think, about how these EFEs were being produced in Tehran and by the odds force shipped across the border, targeting the Americans and they were getting nothing in response. So the regime felt, okay, now we can get on the offensive because We're not getting any kind of, you know, we're not paying a price for it. So why not?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And that's why the order came to turn them into a more active anti-American entity.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Absolutely not, Mike. The Houthis, the way they are, would not even exist if it wasn't for the Iranian regime. The level of training, three years ago, we put out a report and held a press conference
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
right here in Washington detailing how the Iran regime had taken some of the Houthis to Iran near the Caspian Sea in a training camp to create what they call the naval terrorist group that they would be able to carry out terrorist attacks in the sea. And they trained them for several months, at least six months near Ramsar, near the Caspian Sea in Tehran, and then sent them back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
So when you see those attacks by the Houthis taking place at the Red Sea and also other targets, None of that would have happened without direct training, planning, intelligence, weapons, all of that coming from Tehran. And this is like the regular playbook of Tehran. They always deny all of that. They took hostages in Lebanon in the 80s and 90s.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
They said, it wasn't us, but we can help you release those hostages. And then they get into negotiations and get money and resources and concessions. in order to have the hostages released. In all of those cases, the regime denies. Look at Syria. The regime had spent at least 100,000 of their forces there, including at least 20,000 Hezbollah, in order to keep Assad in power.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
At least $50 billion was spent, and they considered Assad in Syria as a strategic debt. But when the time came and the whole thing collapsed in 11 days, thanks to the very weakening position of the regime in the region, then they said, well, it wasn't us. It was another country and too bad. And they say the same thing about Hezbollah and all of the others.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
They said they're acting on their own, which in fact they aren't.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
There is a whole new reality in the region, but also inside Iran. And I think these two elements are intertwined because the regime started getting weaker and weaker inside Iran since 2018. where those uprisings started. There have been nine rounds of major uprisings in Iran, in all 31 provinces, shaking the very foundation of the regime.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
People calling for change, calling for an end to the rule of clerics. There were what they called resistance units formed inside Iran, run by the main Iranian opposition, the MEK. They were targeting the revolutionary guards and centers of power. power, and then in parallel in the region, the regimes, that image of invincibility that Tehran had built over the years, that has been badly shattered.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Who would think that a regime in Damascus, that Tehran tried for about three, four years, tried to keep Assad in power. with a huge amount of money and resources, but also bringing Russia to help them, that whole thing would fall in 11 days. And the same situation with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and look at the situation in Iraq and now at the Houthis.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
This regime is far weaker than they have ever been. And this is not a small thing. This is not a sideshow. All of these proxies of the regime represented what Khamenei described as the strategic depth. That's what they mean, meaning that if we don't fight in Lebanon, in Iraq, and Syria and other places, we would have to fight in Tehran to keep the regime in power.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Those are actually almost exact words that commonly used, and now all of that is happening. So this regime is far weaker than they have ever been. And therefore, I think there's a huge opportunity to end all of these threats, and of course, Nothing will be resolved unless the mullahs are overthrown, and of course, by the people of Iran and the organized resistance.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Well, you know, the good thing about what's different now, I know the Mullahs have been in power for 40 plus years. That's what they use to actually build this perception in the minds of others that, you know, we're the permanent feature here. We're going to be around and all the Middle East has always been like that. It will always be like this.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
You better find a way of living with our terrorism and all of that. That's the thinking of the Mullahs. And I think we need to put an end to that because you have never seen this level of weakness of the regime in the region. but also the uprisings inside the country.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
What you really, the world saw in the past few months or the past year, they saw that the head of the snake of war and terror lies in Tehran, but also the solution is also there. Nothing would be resolved unless the mullahs are overthrown. Now, what the benefit the regime had over the years was that they always managed to get concessions for their terrorism.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And terrorism became a very profitable business for the Ayatollahs, combining the export of terrorism with the hostage taking. Taking few hostage, remember back in the 80s, the Terry Anderson and all the Americans and foreign other nations that were taken hostage by Tehran. And they always got something for it. They never paid the price for it. They've developed nuclear weapons.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
We were first to expose the nuclear sites of the regime right here in Washington. In August of 2002, I revealed the nuclear sites in Natanz and the heavy weather facility in Iraq near Tehran. And then in a matter of a year, we revealed several other nuclear sites of Iran. We showed a complete picture of the nuclear weapons program of the regime, even though they were in early stages.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
I know Washington and other capital have been talking about this, but what we know on the ground from our information on the ground, it shows that they have a very advanced, sophisticated nuclear weapons program that is working on all levels, both in terms of the fissile material that you can get it from a rich uranium or plutonium.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
They are working on the weaponization part, which has been very little overseeing on that. The IAEA is pretty much doing nothing about the weaponization part. And then the delivery system, building the missiles to carry the nuclear warheads.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
We just had two press conferences within the past four months showing that the main organization in charge of building the nuclear bomb, known as CEPAD, S-P-N-D, which we first exposed in July 2011, and three years later it was sanctioned by the US government, that entity is heavily involved in developing nuclear warheads in , but also in Tehran.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
So whether Khamenei decided to put all these pieces together and build a bomb, that's a different issue. We should get ourselves involved with that. We should look at the realities on the ground. It's not about their decision, it's about what they're doing. This program since day one has always been about developing nuclear weapons.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
It's not about energy, and now they're moving towards that direction. But getting back to your first question about how to bring about change in Iran, change is going to happen. You need to have several elements. First, the population. has to be in a situation to reject the regime, which is already there since 2018. As I mentioned, there've been nine rounds of major uprisings.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
It's not really the intellectuals anymore, it's the poor, the deprived, the smaller town cities who used to be the bedrock of support for the regime, who are now involved in the protests. you need to have the organized opposition to move things forward, to turn this content into change. And that's what those resistance units are doing on the ground, around the clock.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
At least an average of seven acts of resistance are doing a day in Iran. Not much is being reported in the media. And third is with the role of the outside world. Is the outside world helping the regime in maintaining power or they're holding them accountable and squeezing them? This is the missing part over the past few years.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Different administrations, whether it was in Washington in Europe, always gave them concessions. Now is the time to reverse that and you will see the impact. If the maximum pressure policies fully implement it. And what I mean by maximum pressure, you need to squeeze them where they actually feel it. And the most important element in addition to the sanctions is the organized opposition.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
US should recognize the right of the people of Iran to stand up against the regime, overthrow them, recognize the right of those resistance units to confront the Revolutionary Guards, and you will see the outcome.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
What are you thinking? Well, good question. You know, that question was posed to Mrs. Maria Radja Vujicic Wolfman. She was at a hearing just last month before the US Congress, and the members of Congress asked her, what do you want from the United States? And she said, let me tell you what we don't want from the United States. There's no need for boots on the ground.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
There's no need for arms or appropriating money. None of that is needed. Just recognize the right of the people to stand up against the repressive rulers. Definitely this means moral support, but also it means creating space for those who want to overthrow the regime. Let me just give you one example.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
2002, when we exposed the nuclear sites, within a year, we had several major press conferences against the regime, and the regime was just going nuts. So they put pressure on the State Department and the US government. You know what happened? Instead of us being at least recognized for what we were doing,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
They shut down our office in Washington and they designated, they added this movement to the FTO list. We had to fight for 15 years to go to different cores and get members of Congress to get off the list. Why would you want to waste it? the time and energy and resources of a movement that is trying to overthrow the biggest enemy of humanity today.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
That's what I mean when it comes to maximum pressure, when it comes to recognizing their rights to confront the regime. Those who are fighting the regime are not terrorists. They are true freedom fighters who want to bring about change in Iran and might think about an Iran that is free,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
that is non-proligerant, that is seeking peace, seeking a republic form of government that vote of the people will count, what a difference it will make in the whole region. What a difference it will make in Iraq, in Lebanon. You mentioned all of the countries in the region, but also globally in the world. And that's why I think this is the opportunity for the United States, but also Europe.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
to line up all their vectors behind these new realities on the ground.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Well, Mike, honestly, so far in the past few decades, the terrorism of the Iran regime was very beneficial to them because in a way, in addition to taking hostages and getting money for it, But the regime used that against the players in the region, asking any of these Arab nations in the region. They were afraid to rock the boat with Tehran.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And of course, the most important way to rock the boat with Tehran is to somehow side with the organized opposition in Iran. Tehran has made it a red line to all of the countries that the one place you can't go is this organized resistance.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
You know, the Adi Babadi, who is now the deputy foreign minister for international affairs, legal affairs, he said that since about two and a half years ago, in every single meeting they have had, with their foreign counterparts, whether it was in Europe or in the region, everywhere.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
One of the topics on the table, no matter what the issue is, is the issue of the organized resistance, specifically the MEK, and asking them to demonize them, to limit their activities. Look at how they treated Albania, that has about 3,000 members of the MEK based there in Ashraf 3.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
They waged a huge cyber attack on the Albanian infrastructure in Europe, telling them, if you want those cyber attacks to stop, you need to stop hosting the MEK there. And that's why it's so important to fight back, to tell the Iranian regime that we're going to hold you accountable. We're not going to reward you. This is the end of it. That policy of past 40 years is over.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
Well, this last question, I can't answer intelligently because honestly, I don't know. But I can tell you based on what we know already, and we know a lot, but not everything, they are close. They have worked on all of those elements and they have actually sped up their dash towards building the bomb. This is perhaps the very last leg left for the Ayatollahs as a tool for their survival.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
But in terms of the prospect, I think I'm very optimistic, not just because of the policies outside of the world, but I think very optimistic about what's really happening on the ground. Inside the country, this regime is so weak. Their economy is just like nothing is working because The economy is built on corruption. It's built on further empowering the revolutionaries.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
No matter how much money you give them, still the economy is going to go down. The past four years that the export of oil went up to close to two million barrels a day, up from about two, 300,000, you would see the economy of the country would improve. It didn't.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
It made it worse, and it actually, of course, it made the Revolutionary Guards more powerful, more money, more funding to their proxies, but it also made them more greedy. And that's why the regime is resorting to killings inside Iran. See, the past one year, 1,000 execution of prisoners has taken place. This is all sign of weakness.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
But also in the region, the influence of the regime has been badly shattered. There's no way they can repair it. nothing is going to bring back what they had in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq, and what's really happening now in Yemen. So that's why I'm very optimistic. And I think the relying on the people of Iran, their force, they are also very optimistic. They feel that now that Assad
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
that seemed to be invincible, just went down in 11 days, the same thing can happen in Iran. And of course, what it took there was an organized force on the ground, and that's the same situation in Iran. That's why I say you need to keep the focus here.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 29th, 2025: Signal Gate Fallout & Iran’s Hidden Hand in Yemen
And if I say three steps that the US can do is, first of all, they need to hold the regime accountable, snap back all those sanctions at the UN, bring back all the sanctions that were relieved, and also hold the regime accountable in all different areas, recognize the right of the people of Iran to see change. That's what we will see change will happen.