What Iranians Think About the Iran Deal

President Donald Trump’s announcement Tuesday, May 8, that the United States is withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was perhaps prophesied. Not foreseen were Iranian claims that Iran upheld its commitment to the nuclear deal.

Iranian-American journalist and commentator Negar Mortazavi, for example, wrote on her Twitter account: “Trump did not just leave the nuclear deal, he violated it. Iran has complied to its commitments under the deal, as verified by the international community and even the US State Department. But America just broke its commitment by re-imposing sanctions on Iran. That’s a violation.”

She also wrote, “You know the era of American leadership in the world is ending when Iran can say we stood by our international commitments (which they did) and the U.S. did not.”

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That tweet garnered 1,191 likes at last count.

More on Iran:

• Our View: Deal Won’t Be Undone.
• Gail Ripans: Time to Unite.

More recently, Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi came under fire for writing anti-Israel tweets after Trump’s announcement. He wrote on his Twitter account May 8, “Every dirty treacherous ugly and pernicious act happening in the world just wait a few days and the ugly name of Israel will pup…”

This in conjunction with Iranian lawmakers who lighted a paper U.S. flag in parliament while shouting, “Death to America!”

Many Iranians, including Mortazavi, claim that Iran can no longer trust the United States.

But in light of recent protests in Iran, the Islamic regime’s human rights violations and hard-liners’ threats to destroy Israel, can the United States or its allies trust Iran? The answer is no.

What Iranian commentators may not have written about are the billions Iran’s banks have used to fund terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRGC Quds Force, led by Qasem Soleimani.

Billions that should have trickled down to the Iranian people to create jobs and place food on the table but never did. Money that was supposed to help create jobs and boost Iran’s economy, which has long suffered from U.S. sanctions.

What Iranian commentators may not have written about are the proceeds from the nuclear deal being used on military ventures from Yemen to Syria to create bases and launch rockets into countries opposed to the Iranian regime, including Israel.

What Iranian commentators may not have written about is that Iran announced it would produce higher-enriched uranium if the United States left the nuclear deal.

Yet a number of Iranians support Trump’s decision. After Trump delivered his speech, many took to Twitter to express their gratitude using the hashtag #ThankYouTrump.

In his speech, Trump delivered the following message to the Iranian people: “The people of America stand with you. It has now been almost 40 years since this dictatorship seized power and took a proud nation hostage. Most of Iran’s 80 million citizens have sadly never known an Iran that prospered in peace with its neighbors and commanded the admiration of the world.”

To echo Trump’s sentiments, many Iranians have used “#WeAreHostages” in support of the JCPOA pullout.

Thus, while many Iranians are concerned about the U.S. exit from the nuclear deal, perhaps they should be more concerned about hard-liners who fail to keep their promises.

Many Iranians also believe that the Islamic regime’s days are numbered and that it has bitten off more than it can chew. Many people are eager for change after Iran recently dropped the U.S. dollar amid deepening tensions and protests since December.

As Trump said, “The future of Iran belongs to its people. They are the rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land, and they deserve a nation that does justice to their dreams, honor to their history and glory to God.”