TEHRAN, Iran (AP) 鈥� Iran's government seems to be welcoming some recent decisions by the United States 鈥� even though they happen to come from a man .
President Donald Trump's moves to and overhaul, maybe even end, the have been lauded in Iranian state media.
The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country's Shiite theocracy 鈥� pro-democracy activists and others as part of U.S. government's efforts to help democracy worldwide.
At the same time, Iranian officials appear to be signaling that they are waiting for a message from Trump on whether he wants to negotiate over . At stake are potentially billions of dollars withheld from Iran through crushing sanctions and the future of a program on the precipice of enriching weapons-grade uranium.
And even when his 鈥渕aximum pressure on Iran鈥� on Tuesday, Trump suggested he wanted to deal with Tehran.
Meanwhile, ordinary Iranians worry what all this could mean for them. On Wednesday, Iran's currency, the rial, plunged to a record low of 850,000 to $1 after Trump's order, showing the ongoing economic volatility they face. A decade ago, it stood at 32,000 rials to $1.
鈥淚t encourages hard-liners inside Iran to continue repressions because they feel the U.S. would have less capability in supporting Iranian people who seek freedom,鈥� said Maryam Faraji, a 27-year-old waitress in a coffee shop in northern Tehran.
Iranian media say Trump's cuts could stop the opposition in Iran
The state-run IRNA news agency said that 鈥渃utting the budget of foreign-based opposition鈥� could 鈥渁ffect the sphere of relations鈥� between Tehran and Washington.
Newspapers, like the conservative Hamshhari daily, described Iran's opposition as 鈥渃ounterrevolutionaries鈥� who had been 鈥渃elebrating" Trump's election as heralding the "last days of life of the Islamic Republic.鈥�
They then "suddenly faced the surprise of cut funding from their employer,鈥� the newspaper crowed.
Even the reformist newspaper Hammihan compared it to a 鈥渃old shower鈥� for opponents of Iran's theocracy abroad, an idea also expressed by the Foreign Ministry.
鈥淭hose financial resources are not charity donations," Esmail Bagahei, Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesman, said during a briefing with reporters on Monday. 鈥淭hey are wages paid in exchange for services."
"This is a clear sign of America鈥檚 interventionist policy particularly during the Biden administration, which tried to pressure Iran and meddle in its domestic affairs through financial aid,鈥� Bagahei added.
It remains unclear how funding for Iranian activists and opposition figures would be affected by the USAID decision.
The lion's share of money for civil society in Iran has come through the U.S. State Department's Near East Regional Democracy fund, known by the acronym NERD, which grew as an American response to .
In 2024, the Biden administration requested $65 million for NERD after over $600 million had been appropriated by Congress for the fund, according to the Congressional Research Service. That money and other funding had gone in the past toward training journalists and activists on how to report on human rights abuses, funding access to the internet amid government shutdowns and other issues.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment over the NERD funding and its future. American officials for years have kept the awardees of NERD grants secret due to what they describe as the risk activists face from Iran, particularly after Iranian intelligence officers have allegedly targeted in kidnapping or assassination plots, U.S. prosecutors say.
Iran repeatedly hints it's ready to talk to Trump
Iran also noticed that the U.S. avoided direct criticism of the Islamic Republic during a review by the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva last week. For those in Iran's government, there's anticipation this could mean that Trump is willing to negotiate, something he repeatedly brought up in his election campaign as a possibility.
Even Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, in a speech in September , saying there is 鈥渘o harm鈥� in engaging with the 鈥渆nemy.鈥� More recently, he tempered that, warning that sinister plots could still be 鈥渃oncealed behind diplomatic smiles.鈥�
鈥淲e must be careful about who we are dealing with, who we are negotiating with, and who we are speaking to," Khamenei said last week.
While Bagahei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, acknowledged Iran hasn't seen any 鈥済reen light鈥� yet for talks, Iran is trying to do everything it can to signal it wants them.
The country's , who campaigned on outreach to the West, urged officials on Monday to listen to dissent from the Iranian people and avoid further crackdowns like those that followed .
鈥淭he enemies are hoping that by stirring up disputes within the country, they will throw people into the streets and then ride the wave of protests themselves," Pezeshkian said.
As he signed the executive order on Iran on Tuesday, Trump warned the country would be 鈥渙bliterated鈥� if he was assassinated by Tehran. But he still left the door open for talks.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to sign it, but hopefully we鈥檙e not going to have to use it very much,鈥� he said from the Oval Office. 鈥淲e will see whether or not we can arrange or work out a deal with Iran.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be tough on Iran. We don鈥檛 want to be tough on anybody," Trump added. "But they just can鈥檛 have a nuclear bomb.鈥�
However, factions within Iran's theocracy are still likely to oppose talks, whether out of their own self interest or over anger that Trump ordered , the country's top general and a revered figure.
That killing fueled Iranian calls for Trump's assassination 鈥� and alleged plots against him. In November, the Justice Department disclosed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Trump. While Iran denied being involved, .
"This will not have any impact on the factions that oppose talks with the U.S. but maybe some moderates find it as an excuse to say that Trump is taking some steps,鈥� Iranian political analyst Ahmad Zeiabadi said.
For now though, much of this can seem as conjecture and theorizing to many of Iran's over 80 million people who continue to .
Tehran taxi driver Gholanhossein Akbari, 27, insisted Iranians like him never benefitted from U.S. support of Iran鈥檚 pro-democracy activists abroad.
"We did not see any result from the funds the U.S. paid to foreign-based Iranian activists who only make comments in the media,鈥� Akbari said.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Nasser Karimi And Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
