Ordinary Iranians who have spoken to the JC have condemned US vice-president JD Vance for failing to back opposition to the regime.
Speaking while they are still able to before the internet is cut off, the dissidents also spoke of their hope that military action by America and Israel could help to bring down the regime.
Repeated exchanges between the US and Islamic Republic in recent days – in particular over control of the Strait of Hormuz – have left the supposed truce in virtual tatters, but the threat of a return to all-out war has yet to to be realised.
Vance is understood to be a strong opponent of a further re-escalation, and has been closely involved in negotiations with Tehran’s leaders, to the dismay of hawkish members of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Interviewed by American podcaster Joe Rogan, the vice-president said US military action was not intended to bring about regime change.
Drawing on the example of Libya’s recent history, he asked: “What is in our interest?”
Vance added: “How is it in the United States’ interest to have 94 million desperate people flooding into Europe, flooding into the United States, to have the sort of terrorist infrastructure that can get established when you fan terrorists all over the world? We’ve run this experiment before.”
The remarks infuriated Iranian opponents of the regime.
Speaking to the JC from Tehran, Mahdi, 27, said: “We are not terrorists. We have risen up many times to topple the terrorist regime in Iran, and now JD Vance is saying they want it to remain in power so terrorism does not spread.
“He does not know what he is talking about.”
Asked whether the recent US strikes could encourage another wave of anti-regime protests by exposing the cost of the Islamic Republic’s military ambitions, Mahdi dismissed the suggestion.
“Why should we?” he said. “At the beginning of the war, President Trump said this could be a once-in-many-generations opportunity for Iranians to topple the regime.
“Now his vice-president is clearly saying he is against regime change.”
Vance had also expressed his belief that any change of government in Iran must ultimately come from the Iranian people, but Mahdi reacted: “He says that to be politically correct.
“What does it mean to say that and then immediately argue that regime change is not in America’s interest? We already tried. We rose up in January, and we were suppressed and killed by the regime. It was President Donald Trump who promised support.”
Mahdi criticised Washington’s willingness to engage with senior Iranian officials: “The Americans have shown that they would rather trust an IRGC commander, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, to negotiate with them than trust the Iranian people.
“They are not the ones who have to live with the consequences of dealing with IRGC generals.”
Other Iranians told JC they believed that US strikes could ultimately weaken the regime.
Sohrab lives in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, which has been repeatedly targeted during the recent fighting.
He said: “The least these attacks do is weaken the regime.
“It is not pleasant to wake up to the sound of explosions.
“It is also not clear to us whether America has its own agenda in this war, whether that is opening the Strait of Hormuz or securing Iran’s uranium. But at least these attacks weaken the regime and show the Americans that the Islamic Republic’s authorities cannot be trusted.”
Iranian officials have condemned the strikes as “war crimes”, claiming that civilian infrastructure has been damaged and warning that some facilities could take years to rebuild.
Sohrab was sceptical of those claims.
“What infrastructure are we talking about?” he asked.
“I am from the south of the country. We are sitting on enormous oil wealth, yet our city is one of the poorest in Iran. Have ordinary people benefited from that infrastructure or from the oil money? Or has it only benefited the regime and its corrupt hierarchy?”
Sohrab does not expect the US to remove the Islamic Republic, but believes continued military pressure could create opportunities for Iranians themselves to do so.
“I do not trust the Americans to overthrow the regime for us,” he said.
“We have to do that ourselves. But let them keep fighting. It will definitely weaken the regime.”
He added: “If we have one friend in the region who genuinely wants the regime toppled and Iran back on its feet, it is Israel.”
Since the burial of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, senior figures in the Islamic Republic have renewed their calls for revenge. Large billboards have appeared across Tehran carrying threats against President Trump, while several members of parliament have publicly called for Iran to develop nuclear weapons as a guarantee of the regime’s survival.
For some Iranians opposed to the government, the rhetoric reinforces their belief that the West has fundamentally misjudged the Islamic Republic.
“I am glad they are showing their true selves, so Americans can see who they have preferred over the Iranian people and the opposition,” said Hannah (not her real name), speaking to the JC from the northwestern city of Tabriz.
“This is the regime we have been dealing with for more than four decades: untrustworthy, violent, corrupt and stubbornly committed to its ideology.”
She said the latest military campaign had strengthened her belief that external pressure was weakening the authorities.
“Since the American strikes began, many of my friends and I have hoped Israel would also become involved because it has been more effective.
“I am against attacks on civilian infrastructure, and from what we have seen during the previous two rounds of fighting, Israel has not targeted civilian facilities.”
Not all those interviewed by the JC, however, believed that limited military action would help bring about meaningful political change.
For some, the most immediate concern was the rapidly deteriorating economic situation.
“If the war continues like this, sporadically and without any clear objective, ordinary people will be the ones who suffer,” said Sahar, speaking to the JC from Tehran. “You feel it every time you go grocery shopping.”
She said she did not believe economic hardship alone would provoke another nationwide uprising.
“I do not think this will lead people to rise up against the regime. The recent crackdown proved that protests alone cannot bring it down, but limited military action cannot do it either. My biggest fear is that we become another Afghanistan and the world simply forgets about us.”
Many Iranians who spoke to the JC feared that the authorities could once again impose a nationwide internet blackout if unrest escalates, cutting the country off from the outside world.
“Be our voice if they cut the internet again,” Mahdi said. “We want the world to hear us. We want a free Iran that can contribute to the world and be friends with all countries.”
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