TEHRAN, Feb 5: The Iranian Government appears to be responding positively to several recent actions taken by the United States—even though these measures emanate from a person that Iranian operatives are reportedly plotting to eliminate.
President Donald Trump’s initiatives to curtail foreign aid spending and possibly restructure or terminate the US Agency for International Development have received praise from Iranian state-run media.
Reports indicate that these decisions will lead to the suspension of funding for adversaries of Iran’s Shiite regime, including pro-democracy activists, who have historically benefited from US government programs aimed at promoting global democracy.
Simultaneously, Iranian officials seem to be indicating they are awaiting a communication from Trump regarding his interest in negotiations over Tehran’s swiftly advancing nuclear program. The potential implications include billions of dollars withheld from Iran due to severe sanctions and the future of a program nearing the enrichment of weapons-grade uranium.
Even while signing an executive order to reintroduce what he termed “maximum pressure on Iran” on Tuesday, Trump conveyed a desire to engage with Tehran.
Meanwhile, everyday Iranians are concerned about what this might signify for them.
“It empowers hard-liners in Iran to persist in their repressive actions, as they believe that the US will have diminished capacity to support those seeking freedom,” said Maryam Faraji, a 27-year-old waitress in a northern Tehran coffee shop.
Iranian media indicates Trump’s budget cuts could suppress opposition within Iran.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported that “reducing the budget for foreign-based opposition” might “influence the dynamics of relations” between Tehran and Washington.
Newspapers, including the conservative Hamshhari daily, characterized Iran’s opposition as “counterrevolutionaries” who had purportedly been “celebrating” Trump’s election as signaling the “final days of the Islamic Republic.”
They further remarked that these opposition figures “suddenly faced the shock of funding cuts from their sponsor,” the newspaper boasted.
Even the reform-oriented Hammihan newspaper likened the situation to a “cold shower” for Iran’s exiled opposition, a sentiment echoed by the Foreign Ministry.
“These financial resources are not charity donations,” asserted Esmail Bagahei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, during a press briefing. “They are compensation paid for services rendered.”
“This clearly illustrates America’s interventionist approach, particularly during the Biden administration, which sought to exert pressure on Iran and interfere in its internal affairs through financial support,” Bagahei continued.
It’s currently uncertain how the funding for Iranian activists and opposition figures will be influenced by the USAID decision.
The majority of civil society funding in Iran has originated from the U.S. State Department’s Near East Regional Democracy fund, commonly referred to as NERD, which emerged as an American response to the Green Movement protests in 2009.
In 2024, the Biden administration requested $65 million for NERD after Congress had appropriated over $600 million for the fund, according to the Congressional Research Service. This funding has previously been earmarked for training journalists and activists on reporting human rights violations, ensuring internet access amid government shutdowns, and addressing other critical issues.
The State Department did not respond to inquiries regarding NERD funding and its future. American officials have maintained confidentiality regarding NERD grant recipients due to perceived risks faced by activists in Iran, especially after allegations that Iranian intelligence has targeted them in kidnapping or assassination plots, according to US prosecutors.
Iran continually indicates its readiness to engage with Trump.
Iran also took note that the US refrained from overtly criticizing the Islamic Republic during a recent United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. For Iranian officials, there is a sense of hope that this may suggest Trump’s willingness to negotiate, something he frequently mentioned as a possibility during his election campaign.
Even Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader with inarguable authority on all state issues, hinted at potential talks with the US during a September speech, asserting that there is “no harm” in engaging with one’s “enemy.” More recently, he tempered this openness by cautioning that insidious plots may still be “hidden behind diplomatic smiles.”
“We must exercise caution about with whom we are negotiating and conversing,” Khamenei remarked last week.
While Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bagahei acknowledged that Iran has yet to see any “green light” for negotiations, the country is striving to convey its interest in dialogue.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, who campaigned on a platform seeking improved relations with the West, urged officials on Monday to heed the voices of dissent among the Iranian populace and to avoid further repressive measures similar to those that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
“Our adversaries aim to incite discord within the country, hoping to engender protests that they can utilize for their own purposes,” Pezeshkian asserted.
As Trump signed the executive order concerning Iran on Tuesday, he warned that the country would face “obliteration” if he were assassinated by Tehran. Yet, he still left the possibility for negotiations open.
“I’m going to sign it, but I hope we won’t have to rely on it too heavily,” he stated from the Oval Office. “We will see if we can arrange or negotiate a deal with Iran.”
“We don’t want to be tough on Iran. We don’t wish to be tough on anyone,” Trump added. “But they simply cannot be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
However, factions within Iran’s theocracy may continue to resist talks, whether for self-serving interests or due to resentment over Trump’s 2020 drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a prominent and treasured figure in Iran.
This assassination fueled Iranian calls for Trump’s own demise—and alleged schemes against him. In November, the Justice Department revealed a purported Iranian plot aiming to kill Trump. While Tehran denied involvement, it has a history of orchestrating assassinations of opponents abroad.
“This won’t influence the factions opposing dialogue with the US, but perhaps some moderates might use it as justification to suggest that Trump is taking steps towards engagement,” commented Iranian political analyst Ahmad Zeiabadi.
For now, however, much of this may seem like speculation and conjecture to the more than 80 million residents of Iran who continue to grapple with the challenges posed by the nation’s struggling economy.
Tehran taxi driver Gholanhossein Akbari, 27, contended that Iranians like him have not benefited from US support for pro-democracy activists in Iran.
“We didn’t see any results from the funds the US allocated to foreign-based Iranian activists who merely make statements in the media,” Akbari asserted. (AP)
