Iranians say Trump deal with Islamic Republic may let regime survive intact

Amid President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that a deal with Iran’s clerical regime to negotiate a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Tehran’s illegal nuclear weapons program was imminent, Iranians who had hoped that U.S. pressure would produce a decisive outcome now fear it could survive while ordinary people bear the costs.

State Department editor-in-chief Lisa Dafari, who has been in contact with Iranians on the ground, told Fox News Digital: “The mood in Iran has shifted from optimism at the beginning of the war to a kind of jaded resignation, but there is still some hope that this is the moment when President Trump will use his leverage to do the right thing. The Iranian people understand this unusually narrow but strategic window.”

He continued: “With the regime financially strained and politically fragile, a broad swath of the public is disillusioned with years of repression and economic collapse. Iranians see this as a one-time opportunity for Washington – and especially President Trump – to turn military and economic influence into the potential collapse of an irreversible regime. If the result is a superficial deal that shores up the system without altering its course, that window will likely close for years.”

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He continued: “If the United States sticks to sanctions and nuclear red lines, it can weaken the regime’s hand without punishing the Iranian people, who have already paid the highest price.”

Iran expert Daftari shared the latest correspondence of two Iranians from Tabriz and Tehran.

The native of Tabriz said: “From my perspective, the decades-long political tension between Iran and the United States has had its greatest impact on ordinary people rather than those in power. Many families feel their voices are not being heard in international discussions about Iran.” “I respectfully ask whether you would consider sharing this situation or emphasizing its humanitarian aspect so that the experiences of ordinary Iranian families are not ignored in political debates and media.”

Tehranli said, “Today, the Iranian people believe in the future. In days when economic pressures make the Iranian people grimace, the word ‘unity’ brings a smile to their lips. Our situation is not good, but we are motivated.”

Fox News Digital surveyed several Iranians who agreed to use only their first names because the religious regime has declared the use of Starlink to bypass censorship a crime. A sophisticated covert network has managed to smuggle some satellite internet technologies into Iran to allow people to communicate with the world outside the Islamist state.

Two armed members of Iranian police special forces stand behind the country’s flag placed on an armored military vehicle during a pro-Government rally in downtown Tehran, Iran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hassan, who lives in Tehran, implored President Trump to keep relations with the regime strong, saying: “Things have gotten so bad that even if you want to give up on Iran and just focus on your own life and business, it feels like there’s nowhere left to go. Through these deals and arrangements, Mr. Trump has left people trapped, with no path open.”

Mahdi, who resides in Tehran, expressed confusion about the existence of the agreement. “So what exactly do they agree on? Do they say they are close to an agreement, or are there other discussions? Every minute there is new news, everyone makes a new analysis, everything changes every minute. It’s strange. This war has gained nothing. Only we are paying the price,” he complained.

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Hassan from Tehran said, “Mr. Trump, if until yesterday most Iranians thought that they were on the same path as America, you have caused them all to be disappointed.” Trump, if you wanted this government to stay in power, why did you blow up the factories? Now workers are being laid off and inflation is out of control. “You cannot feed yourself even with a salary of 18 million tomans.”

Mahsa, from the Caspian Sea city of Rasht, told Fox News Digital that the system [Islamic Republic of Iran] is still completely intact. They don’t care how many people die. On the contrary, they now seem more courageous and even proud of their martyrdom. I had an argument with a regime supporter yesterday [who] He said: “Our leader did not give even a meter of land or step back, unlike the previous kings who gave Bahrain, Baku, Nakhchivan and others.”

Protesters block a street as a crowd gathers during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, on January 9, 2026. (Mahsa/Middle East Images/AFP)

The concerns of many Iranians revolve around the proposed memorandum of understanding between the United States and the Iranian regime. According to media reports, the Memorandum of Understanding does not address the overthrow of the religious regime or human rights violations. Many Iranians in Iran and the Iranian diaspora want the Trump administration to overthrow the Islamist dictatorship in Tehran.

The Memorandum of Understanding reportedly includes a 60-day extension of the ceasefire. Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. The MoU will also include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and new talks on Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program.

The leaked elements of the Memorandum of Understanding have not been verified by the Trump administration.

Asked about concerns among Iranians about a deal with the Islamic Republic, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital: “For 47 years, American Presidents and countless other world leaders have talked about the threat posed by Iran, but no one has dared to address it. President Trump has taken decisive action to ensure that Iran will never again harm our homeland, our troops, or our allies. When Iran’s nuclear threat is completely eliminated, the entire region and its people will be safer and more stable.”

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Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency/AP)

But Trump said at a cabinet meeting last week: “We didn’t set out for regime change,” adding: “But the fact that we’re dealing with a completely different group of people than we had at the beginning… This is regime change.”

Iranian American Reza Farnood, a researcher, author and activist who supports the Trump administration, called for President Trump to continue his maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.

“We welcome bombings and attacks on the regime because we aim to overthrow the regime,” Farnood told Fox News Digital. He called for Trump to maintain the blockade of Iranian ships and not give money to the regime. He said sanctions relief would be used by Iran “against the United States, Israel and their allies, as well as innocent Iranians.”

Farnood emphasized that the religious regime is holding the Iranian people “hostage”.

Kianoosh, who lives in Karaj, the capital of the northern Alborz province, said the following about the deal proposed by Trump: “You threw six months of our lives into hell. What will you answer to the mothers of all those murdered children?” Why did you give people false hopes? Why did you give the death penalty to everything that so many people believed in?”

Prominent US Senators knowledgeable about foreign policy have praised Trump’s approach to the Islamic Republic. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recently told Fox News’ Sean Hannity: “On Trump’s watch, they [Iran’s regime] becoming poorer and weaker. That’s the difference.”

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Graham compared Trump’s Iran policy to that of his predecessors. “Obama and Biden destroyed Iran, and Donald Trump is fixing it. Under Obama and Biden’s watch, Iran has become rich and lethal,” he said. “They’re getting poorer and poorer under Trump’s watch. That’s the difference.”

Former US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette recently told Fox News that Iran’s oil storage capacity is running dangerously low and could face a serious economic tipping point if it is forced to halt production.

Trump said the Iranian regime killed some 45,000 Iranian demonstrators in January 2026. A few days after the mass shooting, he called for protesters to move on and promised them “help is on the way.”

Lawdan Bazargan, a prominent Iranian American activist whom the regime imprisoned in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison in the 1980s for political dissent, told Fox News Digital that Iranians he spoke to were disheartened by Trump’s deals. “He was one of the few world leaders who repeatedly spoke of the killing of thousands of Iranians in January 2026 and expressed disgust at the sheer brutality of the Islamic Republic. He had pledged his support to the Iranian people and voiced expectations that meaningful change could finally come.”

Iranians participate in an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

He continued: “Now, 88 days later, many people feel they are facing the same regime, one that appears to be bolder, more ideological and still willing to repress, execute and arrest people. “The economy has been devastated and many feel trapped between a ruthless government and a future with no clear path forward.

For years, 90 million Iranians have lived as hostages of the Islamic Republic. “Many now fear that the consequences of threats to global energy routes, regional stability and even digital infrastructure will no longer remain within Iran’s borders.”

According to Bazargan, “The question most ordinary Iranians are asking is simple: How are people expected to fight a system that feels victorious, controls the weapons, controls the narrative through a massive propaganda machine, and has countless tools of oppression?”

A billboard in Tehran displays Iran’s religious leaders since 1979: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed religious leader on March 9, 2026. (via AFP/Getty Images)

Ali, who is also from the growing capital Tehran, complained about rising prices and inflation and frustration that the regime was still in place.

“For a government with government-provided housing and billions of dollars in patronage and privileges, what difference has any of this made to its supporters?”

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Ali added: “We are the ones who pay the price and are oppressed. How will our children pay for these house and car prices, how will they get married?”

The U.S. State Department referred Fox News Digital to the White House for comment.