Prof. Foad Izadi, who teaches at the University of Tehran and has direct visibility into Iranian public opinion, breaks it down for me:
Iranians are absorbing more personal pain because they blame Trump and Netanyahu for their suffering, not their own government.
Meaning the economic pressure the U.S. hoped would turn Iranians against the regime is doing the opposite.
On whether Iran will compromise on Hormuz: "Iran's primary goal is to make sure the strait is not used again to attack Iran, the fees, the percentages, sharing with Omanis, these are things Iranians can compromise on."
On the internal Iranian debate: real disagreements exist within the government, with figures like Araghchi openly frustrated at hardliners blocking a deal.
But Prof. Izadi also believes Trump sees controlling Persian Gulf oil resources as his presidential legacy, making a clean exit unlikely.
He tells me armed men are already waiting on the beaches of southern Iran, and Iranian state media is broadcasting it openly as a warning.
A revealing window into how Tehran and the Iranian public are actually thinking right now...
Thanks for coming on, @IzadiFoad
