Iranians Disappointed with Trump: 'I Thought Help Was on the Way, I Was So Wrong'

The New York Times published interviews with Iranian citizens expressing disappointment with the Trump administration for not bringing about the fall of the regime in Tehran. Interviewees describe a sense of deception, distrust of both the regime and Americans, and determination to continue the struggle independently. Some participated in previous protests, and one describes violence she experienced. They emphasize that the struggle does not depend on American support.

The New York Times published on Friday evening interviews with Iranian citizens who expressed their disappointment with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for not bringing about the fall of the regime in Tehran. Vahid, a 35-year-old who works at a startup company in the Iranian capital, told the newspaper: "I really thought help was on the way, but I was so wrong." According to Maryam, a 36-year-old Tehran resident who participated in protests against the regime in January, Trump exploited the citizens' uprising to advance his own agenda. "I feel that Trump and the United States are deceivers. Trump is a performer; they used the language of human rights only for their own benefit." Another Tehran resident, Sajjad, 27, spoke more bluntly, saying he trusts neither the ayatollahs' regime nor the Americans. "I don't think any of them care about the welfare of the Iranian people. In one word, I despise Trump, the United States, and everyone else." Another woman named Maryam, a 27-year-old nurse from Tehran, said she participated in anti-government protests in 2022, when she was beaten with batons and saw people bleeding in the streets. Then, she said, she protested out of solidarity, but this year she took to the streets because she wanted "revenge for what the regime did to the people." "I fear that the bloodshed will be ignored and forgotten," Maryam explained. "We are not losing hope because we believe despair would betray the blood of our children." She believes that Trump, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, may still have a plan for the Iranian people. But ultimately, she says, Iranians can only rely on themselves. "Our uprising was our choice," she said, "a response to the regime's crimes and a movement to topple the system. Whether Trump helps now or not, it won't change our determination. We are grateful for his support, but our struggle does not depend on it."