Donald Trump can use his so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran to put an end to the Islamic Republic's tyranny, exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi said in a letter warning the US president against trusting the ruling clerics.
"No American President has yet had the courage to put an end to this tyranny", Pahlavi said in the letter he published on X as Trump was sworn in at the US Capitol.
"You can," he said. "Not through war, but by maintaining maximum pressure on the regime and providing maximum support to the brave Iranian people."
Trump has in his previous interviews and speeches appeared to rule out seeking regime change in Iran. In an October interview with Iranian-American podcaster Patrick Bet-David, Trump was asked if he would like to see Iran change its ruling system. He replied, “We can't get totally involved in all that. We can't run ourselves, let's face it.”
He has promised to restore his tough sanctions against the Islamic Republic, as he did during his first term in office. However, the maximum pressure policy was never aimed at ending Iran's theocracy but at making a deal, his last special envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams told Iran International in December.
Abrams told the Eye for Iran podcast that most people remember maximum pressure but do not properly comprehend what the goal was. “For better or worse, it was not the overthrow of the regime,” said Abrams. “His criticism of the Obama deal was that it was time bound, and it was not comprehensive. It didn't deal with Iran's missile program or Iran's support for terrorism.”
'Don't trust the Islamic Republic'
In his letter, Reza Pahlavi warned the US president against trusting the clerical establishment in Tehran.
"Now weaker than ever, it will attempt to preserve itself through deception, offering hollow promises and pursuing subterfuge in the guise of a new deal as it has done for forty-five years. But this regime cannot be trusted," Pahlavi said.
Trump’s pick for state secretary Senator Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the United States should not rule out any arrangement with Iran that leads to peace and security in the Middle East.
"My view of it (Iran) is that we should be open to any arrangement that allows us to have safety and stability in the region, but one in which we're clear-eyed," Rubio said during his confirmation hearing.
The administration of Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian has also hinted at willingness to engage with US under Trump and open Iranian markets to US firms.
In a recent interview with NBC, President Pezeshkian stressed Tehran's readiness for dialogue with the US, while also saying that Iran had no intention of assassinating Donald Trump over the 2020 killing of the IRGC's Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
In a recent interview with NBC, President Pezeshkian stressed Tehran's readiness for dialogue with the US, while also stating that the Islamic Republic had no intentions of assassinating Donald Trump over the 2020 killing of the IRGC's Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.
A senior aide to Pezeshkian, Ali Abdolalizadeh, claimed on Saturday that an agreement with the Trump administration could be reached within two or three months.
Recently, the Pezeshkian administration also undertook what some described as goodwill gestures, such as the offer to assist in controlling the wildfires in Los Angeles.
Ensaf News, a reformist outlet highly supportive of Pezeshkian, reported last week that the US and Israeli flags, which were painted on the ground for people to step on as they entered the presidential compound, were removed “several weeks ago.”
Khamenei repeats opposition to 'hostile' US
In his speech on December 30, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated that the US remains “hostile” to Iran and urged the nation to remain “a thousand times more vigilant”.
Khamenei advised against surrendering to American demands but did not explicitly address the prospect of negotiations with the US or the European parties to the nuclear deal.
As the government’s overtures grow, ultra-hardliners continue to highlight Khamenei’s past objections to negotiation with the US in general and with the Trump administration in particular, while also reiterating threats of avenging him for Soleimani's killing.
Is the government acting against Khamenei’s wishes?
The Pezeshkian administration’s moves appear at odds with Khamenei’s repeated declarations that the Islamic Republic would not engage with the Trump administration and his vow to avenge Soleimani’s assassination.
Notably, Khamenei refused to respond to a 2019 message from Trump delivered by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Many Iranian analysts and politicians, however, argue that the Pezeshkian government could not proceed with such overtures without the Supreme Leader’s tacit approval.
For instance, the reformist newspaper Ham-Mihan accused state-run media outlets, such as Kayhan and the state broadcaster (IRIB), of portraying negotiations with the Trump administration as a "thick red line" after the US elections in November 2024.
“But the circumstances and a review of the positions and reactions show that this red line has long been gone and Iran does not rule out negotiations with the future US administration,” Ham-Mihan wrote.
Similarly, Ensaf News interpreted Pezeshkian’s remarks in the NBC interview as evidence that he has already received the green light to proceed with his plans to engage with the new US administration.
Pezeshkian signals the possibility of economic cooperation with the West
During Pezeshkian's interview with NBC, he also referred to the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with Russia, suggesting that this did not mean the exclusion of the West in Iran's relations.
“We are going to sign a strategic agreement with Russia, the same ways as we did with China, and the same ways as we requested to have [one] with Europe … This does not just apply to Russia, we are prepared to sit down and sign this [type] of agreement with all countries that want to have a close, reasonable, and mutual agreement,” he said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also emphasized that the nature of the agreement with Russia was “primarily economic” and Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow, has said that Iran “is not interested in joining any [Eastern or Western] blocs.”
Unlike agreements that Moscow has signed with Pyongyang and Minsk, Tehran’s deal with Moscow, very notably, did not include a mutual defense clause.
However, Iran has been supplying thousands of suicide drones and allegedly missiles to Russia that have been extensively used to target civilians and civilian installations in Ukraine since mid-2022.
But in the past few months, Iran's deep economic crisis compounded by sanctions Trump imposed in his first term, has become more serious, with its national currency losing 30% of its value since August. More officials and commentators allowed to speak in public have been calling for negotiations with the US.
Pezeshkian’s aide, Abdolalizadeh, has argued that Iran should not have excluded the US from its economic dealings with the international community after the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
“After the JCPOA, we allowed all countries to cooperate with Iran, but we blocked the Americans, and this raised the question of why the US was not allowed to be in Iran for economic cooperation?” he said, adding that the Obama team did not make their complaint public, but Trump would not tolerate such exclusion. “He said he would rip the JCPOA and we said we would burn it. Both sides regret it now.”
He added that, if sanctions are lifted, Iran's oil and gas sectors could become attractive opportunities for American and multinational companies.
Former Iranian diplomat and Princeton professor Hossein Mousavian also suggested in a recent opinion piece for The Hill that direct talks with the US, even at the presidential level, are no longer off-limits.
Mousavian, often labeled a "loyal regime insider" by the Iranian diaspora in the West, proposed that a potential agreement could pave the way for significant economic cooperation, with projects valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars across industries such as petrochemicals, aviation, and clean energy.
Navigating between East and West
Pundits in Iran say the Pezeshkian administration’s overtures to the new US administration, along with its efforts to avoid appearing overly eager to align with Moscow or Beijing, should be viewed through the lens of a ‘positive balancing’ foreign policy.
This approach contrasts with the traditional “Neither East nor West” slogan inscribed at the entrance of the foreign ministry building in central Tehran.
“This strategy neither accepts isolationism nor unquestioning submission to the demands of others,” political analyst Reza Raisi said in an article published by the reformist Ham-Mihan newspaper.
"Iran has never discussed its military capabilities with anyone and never will," spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said, when asked if Iranian diplomats had addressed potential missile limitations during their meeting with European representatives last week.
The issue of limiting the country's long-range missiles has been a topic of discussion for years.
When the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement was signed, Tehran committed not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The United Nations recognizes the agreement as part of Resolution 2231, which formalized the terms of the JCPOA.
“Paragraph 3 of Annex B of resolution 2231 (2015) calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” it reads in part.
Iran has continued the research and development of ballistic missiles, insisting that these missiles are not intended to carry nuclear weapons.
During Donald Trump's first term as president, the administration demanded that Iran halt its missile program as a precondition for negotiating a new nuclear agreement following its withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018.
In 2024, amid rising tensions in the region, Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel on two occasions. While most of the missiles were intercepted by Israel and its allies' air defense systems, a few caused damage inside Israel.
Although Tehran has not developed nuclear weapons, expert have cautioned that its ballistic missiles could be modified to carry warheads if it chooses to pursue them in the future, potentially following the North Korean model.
Tehran, already burdened by international sanctions, is bracing for an even tougher sanctions regime as Donald Trump makes his return to the White House. This has prompted growing calls from some Iranian government officials and politicians for negotiations with the incoming administration to ease US sanctions.
In comments to reporters, Baghaei repeated previous threats by Tehran that if UN sanctions are brought back this year as part of the JCPOA “snapback mechanism,” Iran might withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, has yet to signal any willingness to compromise on key issues, such as high-level uranium enrichment or the ballistic missile program.
When a reporter asked the spokesman about leaving the NPT as a retaliatory option, Baghaei said, "If the snapback mechanism is used as a tool to pressure Iran or extract concessions, our response will be proportional. It has been clearly stated that any misuse of this mechanism means there will no longer be justification for Iran to remain in certain existing agreements. This position has been expressed before as well."
"Do you have a camera on that?" the Leighee daughters asked with laughter, pointing to their shirts donning an image of a young Donald Trump with the word "Daddy" printed below.
The Leighees, who radiate the image of an all-American family, harbor views on Iran and foreign policy that underscore Trump's appeal to disentangle from international conflicts and put "America First".
"I think sanctions and deterrence are imperative," said Mattley Leighee on combating Iran.
The prevailing sentiment among many of the Donald Trump supporters who waited for hours in the cold and rain to attend his victory rally ahead of the president-elect's inauguration is not to engage in war with Iran.
Iran International spoke to several people to get a sense of how they feel about Iran and about Trump's foreign policy.
The Leighees criticized the Biden administration for releasing frozen assets to Iran in a prisoner swap in September 2023 and said they're more concerned with US domestic issues.
"Foreign policy these past four years made us weak," said Mattley Leighee.
Wearing a beige fur vest and a parrot named Murphy sitting atop his left shoulder, Ken Houghton, a Trump supporter said he loves Iran and its people.
"Before there was Rome, there was Persia," said Houghton.
"We cannot go to war. We must be friends," said Houghton on the possibility of going to war with Iran to prevent it from becoming a nuclear power.
"Sanctions and having a strong policy to adversaries is okay, but we cannot go to war with Iran. I love Persian culture, their history is some of the most deeply rooted," he added.
Sue Skelly, who travelled from Southern California to attend the rally, said she hopes that Trump can help the people of Iran.
"I hope Trump can undo what Jimmy Carter did," said Sue Skelly referring to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ousting the monarch in 1979 during the Carter administration, "I have a lot Persian neighbours and I love them."
Heather Hertig, witnessed the shooting of the president-elect in Pennsylvania in July from the first row, and said she views Iran as a threat.
"I feel Iran had a hand in that [shooting]," said Hertig, "I'm afraid of Iran."
The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crook and said he had no ties to Iran. US intelligence has revealed that the Islamic Republic has been behind other attempts on Trump's life.
Hertig supports any move Trump decides to make on Iran, but she said she has a 24-year-old and she doesn't want to see him get drafted.
While fans of Donald Trump are not keen on war, Trump has surrounded himself with Iran hawks like Senator Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz. Trump has threatened to bomb Iran into “smithereens” after reports surfaced of agents at the behest of the Islamic Republic plotted to assassinate him.
Former press secretary Sean Spicer, attending Sunday victory rally, told Iran International he would support any action to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"The president understands we face multiple threats. Iran being one of them, " said Spicer who served in the White House in 2017, "I would support anything that prevents Iran from becoming a nuclear power.