Iran International
President Donald Trump’s tougher rhetoric toward Iran and renewed US strikes have stirred mixed reactions among Iranians, from hopes for political change to fears of another long and unresolved conflict after months of living between war and peace.
The responses shared with Iran International and posted on X and Instagram pointed less to enthusiasm for military escalation than to exhaustion after nearly four months of conflict. Many described life in a state of “neither war nor peace,” where even short-term decisions have been put on hold.
They spoke of worsening economic pressure, constant anxiety and tighter security conditions, as the United States and Iran traded a fresh round of attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, throwing their fragile agreement to end the war into deeper doubt.
The US military said it struck about 90 targets across Iran after Trump said the interim deal with Tehran is over for him, citing Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded with strikes on US-linked targets in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as both sides accused each other of violating the interim agreement.
The Pentagon said it targeted Iranian military sites involved in attacks on commercial shipping.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two railway bridges on the route to Mashhad, where authorities planned to bury former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday. Fars said one was the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, part of a northern route to China and Russia that became more important after the US blockade of Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.
Many messages sent to Iran International linked the timing of the strikes to Khamenei’s funeral, saying they disrupted what the Islamic Republic had tried to stage as a show of unity and political continuity.
“I hope this time the war makes a difference and this cancer is removed from the root. We’re all suffering,” one citizen wrote.
Others saw Trump’s tougher language as a sign that diplomacy with Tehran had reached a dead end.
“Should we tell Trump, ‘We told you so,’ or is it still too early?” one message read.
Another wrote: “Mr. Trump seems to have only just realized what kind of creature he is dealing with.”
Several urged Trump not to return to negotiations.
“Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu and NATO leaders, have you realized yet that negotiating with the Islamic Republic is a waste of time?” one message said.
Another person in Tehran wrote: “Mr. Trump, you say bad days are coming for Iran. Come here for one day. If you find even one good day under the Islamic Republic, you’ll see the hell they have created for the people.”
Hope tempered by fear
Despite welcoming Trump's apparent shift away from diplomacy, several said they feared another drawn-out conflict that would deepen economic hardship without bringing meaningful political change.
"Mr. Trump, please stop. We don't know whether to worry about war, inflation, the dollar or our future," one citizen wrote.
Another said: "I'm only worried that war starts again but nothing changes. If war is inevitable, I hope it benefits the people of Iran."
Some openly encouraged stronger military action.
"President Trump, please finish the job quickly. People, don't lose hope. Our day of freedom is near," one message read.
Another added: "I'm a Trump supporter. I like him. He's a superpower that nobody can challenge. But sometimes he goes off script. Please, President Trump, finish the job this time. It's hard living in your own country with a group of criminals."
Others remained skeptical, saying Trump's previous preference for negotiations made them doubt whether the latest strikes would ultimately produce lasting change.
'Mohammed Something' becomes an instant meme
Trump's remarks on Wednesday also generated a wave of satire after he seemingly referred to chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf as "Mohammad something" while describing US surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities.
The phrase quickly became one of the most widely shared jokes among Persian-language users on X, spawning countless memes aimed at senior Iranian officials.
X user Amin Parvin wrote: "We are living in a state of no war, no peace, no ceasefire and Mohammad Something."
Another user wrote: "Mohammad Something, Mojtaba (Khamenei) Nothing. You've become the laughing stock of the world."
Many directed the joke at Ghalibaf’s page after Trump appeared unable to recall his name.
"Mohammad Something, write your will. Trump didn't even bother learning your surname," one post said.
Another wrote: "Mohammed Something, it looks like this time it's your turn."
Reading Trump's strategy
Beyond the humor, users also debated whether Trump's harsher rhetoric signaled the abandonment of diplomacy or a negotiating tactic designed to force Iranian concessions.
"Trump is playing cat and mouse with them. He doesn't want a full-scale war yet. He's waiting for their response before deciding what to do next," one X user wrote.
Another posted: "I'm genuinely happy Trump is finally seeing their true nature."
Others argued Trump still preferred a negotiated settlement but believed military pressure had become his principal leverage.
"Trump loves being able to say he defeated them without war, so he's trying to disarm them through negotiations," one user wrote. "But their file is closed. Trump himself has said they'll lose their uranium either through negotiations or through war."
"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump told reporters in Ankara before a NATO summit.
"I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum... they're sick people, they're led by sick people, and they're vicious, violent people."
Trump said he would allow US negotiators to continue talks if they wished but signaled he no longer believed diplomacy would succeed.
"They want to negotiate. They're good people... but they have to come back to me," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them, they're liars."
Last month, Washington and Tehran had signed a memorandum of understanding setting out a framework to end the conflict, including steps toward a ceasefire and renewed talks over Iran's nuclear program.
Trump defends overnight strikes
Trump defended US strikes carried out overnight, saying they came after Iran launched missiles at ships a day earlier.
"We hit them very hard last night, very hard," he said. "I told them every time you hit, we hit."
He said Iran targeted commercial shipping after Washington had allowed time for funeral ceremonies for supreme leader Ali Khamenei following earlier fighting.
"We said, 'Go and do your funeral stuff,' and instead of that they start shooting rockets at ships yesterday."
'We're going to denuke it'
Trump repeated that Iran could never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
"They can't have a nuclear weapon," he said. "We're going to denuke it. We're not going to let them."
He said Iran killed US troops through proxy attacks and blamed former Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani for supplying roadside bombs that killed American soldiers.
"They've killed thousands and thousands of our soldiers," Trump said. "They've killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people."
Trump also said Iran had sought to kill him.
"I saw things this morning. I'm on every single one of their lists," he said. "So far I guess I've been lucky."
He described Iran's leaders as "evil, sick people" and compared the country to "cancer."
"You've got to cut out cancer early."
'They killed 54,000 people'
Trump also said Iran's authorities killed thousands of protesters during anti-establishment demonstrations.
"They killed 54,000 people as of now that were protesting," he said.
"When people say, 'How come they haven't taken over?' They can't take over because they're dead."
He also added that Iran repeatedly breaks agreements.
"We make a deal... everyone's agreed, no nuclear weapon... they go outside, talk to the press, they say we never even talked about it," Trump said.
"There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo."
Criticizes NATO allies
Trump also renewed criticism of NATO, saying several allies refused to support the United States during the conflict with Iran.
He said Britain, Germany and France declined requests to assist Washington during the fighting.
"They said, 'We don't want to help you now, but we'll help you when the war is over,'" Trump said.
He said the United States had been "treated unfairly" by NATO and paid "billions and billions of dollars too much" for the alliance's defense.
Trump also repeated criticism of Spain, calling it "a terrible partner in NATO" and saying he wanted to end US trade with the country.
The remarks came after the United States carried out a new wave of strikes on military targets in Iran in response to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran later launched missile and drone attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, further eroding the memorandum signed earlier this week to halt the fighting.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) later listed three tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, including an LNG tanker hit by an unknown projectile eight nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, causing a fire in its port-side engine room.
The advisory also listed a VLCC hit east of Khor Fakkan, UAE, with no crew injuries reported, and a third tanker struck east of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, sustaining minor structural damage with no casualties or environmental impact reported.
Maritime security sources said a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker was among the vessels damaged close to the coast of Oman on Tuesday and was believed to be the Wedyan supertanker.
US officials told Axios and The Wall Street Journal that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps fired missiles at two commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Both vessels, the officials said, sustained significant damage but there were no reported casualties.
Iranian state television offered a different account, reporting that one tanker had ignored repeated warnings while using a maritime route near the Omani coast backed by the United States. The tanker, it said, was struck after failing to heed those warnings.
One of the targeted vessels appeared to be Al Rekayyat, a liquefied natural gas tanker linked to Qatar's LNG industry, according to The Wall Street Journal. Marine radio recordings cited by the newspaper indicated the ship suffered a fire near its engine room but that all crew members were safe.
Talks lose momentum
The attacks came less than three weeks after Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding under which Iran agreed to halt attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz during negotiations over a broader agreement. A separate one-week arrangement aimed at preventing attacks in the waterway has since expired.
Indirect talks in Doha last week ended without significant progress on maritime security, according to US officials.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that negotiations on a final agreement would not begin while threats against Iran continued, urging Washington to "honor your signature" under the memorandum of understanding.
Separately, senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said legislation to formalize Iran's management of the Strait of Hormuz would be introduced in parliament, adding that any arrangement concerning the waterway without coordination with Tehran was "doomed to fail."
The reported attacks unfolded during the fifth day of funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, showing the fragility of efforts to stabilize one of the world's busiest energy shipping corridors.
