As nuclear negotiations with the Islamic regime advance behind closed doors, those of us on the front lines, Israelis and Iranians alike, know exactly what’s at risk: our very survival.
The third round of nuclear talks, led by US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, was recently held in Oman, aiming to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. US officials reported that there is “still much to do, but further progress was made toward reaching a deal,” which, paradoxically, for those of us who understand what’s at stake, only makes the situation even more alarming.
While Donald Trump ran his presidential campaign on the promise of “ending wars” rather than starting them, many believed he would take a much tougher stance to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Very few, however, could have predicted that his administration would actually sit across the table and negotiate with Iran’s terrorist leaders. Although Israel’s senior leaders have avoided publicly criticizing the Trump administration, there is no doubt they are deeply concerned.
According to reports from Israeli journalists, the Trump administration has repeatedly assured Israeli officials that any agreement would be better than Obama’s 2015 JCPOA agreement. Yet, there remains a genuine fear that Israel could end up trapped in a deal that limits its ability to strike Iran preemptively.
Trump negotiations with Tehran missing Iranian voices
While these negotiations have dominated media coverage, one critical element has been largely missing from the conversation: how the Iranian people itself feels about the talks. To better understand its perspective, I spoke with several Iranian activists from around the world to hear their reactions to, and views on, a potential nuclear agreement.
“It is disappointing to see that yet again, Western democracies have failed to learn the lessons of history,” says Lily Moo, a British-Iranian activist. “This regime will not change its behavior or its DNA. However, it will continue providing false promises and hopes as it has in the past.”
Indeed, many Iranians are outraged that the United States has chosen to engage the regime diplomatically at this moment.
For Gazelle Sharmahd, whose father, Jamshid Sharmahd, an American-German national, was abducted by the regime in 2020 and subsequently executed on October 28, 2024, the negotiations are especially infuriating.
“Every time the West has engaged in talks with jihadists instead of holding them accountable, they’ve empowered terror, crushed uprisings, and betrayed the people of Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Europe, the US, and the rest of the world,” Gazelle says. She adds, “You don’t negotiate with hostage takers. You end them. Or put them behind bars.”
The New York Times recently revealed that President Trump called off a planned Israeli strike on Tehran. According to these reports, Israel had intended to target Iran’s nuclear facilities as early as May, a move that would have required American backing. However, Trump opted against military action, choosing instead to pursue negotiations.
When asked whether she favors diplomacy or military action to curb the regime’s nuclear program, Mona Jafarian, the co-founder of Femme Azadi, advocated for a path focused on supporting the Iranian people instead.
“The only path to lasting peace is the fall of [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei. And there is only one way to achieve that: support the Iranian people, suffocate the regime, and help them curb the regime’s repressive capabilities as much as possible,” she says.
Mona also outlined the critical role European nations can play in isolating the regime.
“First, Europe must stop believing that it is possible to appease a criminal regime. It must designate the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] as a terrorist organization. Attacks on European soil are intensifying, and Khamenei’s support for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin poses a real threat to Europe.
“Moreover, France, the UK, and Germany, the three countries still part of the nuclear deal, can trigger the UN snapback mechanism and reimpose maximum sanctions on the regime, without the possibility of a veto from Khamenei’s allies.”
Iranian-American activist Sarah Raviani highlights how alarmed the public should be about Iran’s race for a nuclear bomb. “The threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran is not a partisan talking point; it is an existential risk, not only to the Iranian people and those in the region but to global security.”
Sarah further explains that blanket military action against Iran will not work and that “foreign powers cannot impose sustainable regime change; it must emerge from within. It cannot be forced through war.”
Regarding the best way to support the Iranian people in its fight, Mona adds, “We will do the work from within to rid the world of this barbaric, tentacled, terrorist regime,” but all they ask is that the Western world stop saving the regime.
THE REALITY is that nobody, especially not Israel, is interested in starting World War III. Israeli reporters have explained to English-language media that Israeli security leaders believe a negotiation and diplomatic solution must be achieved in the long run, but only after nuclear facilities have been struck and only after the regime has suffered a significant enough blow to be forced to negotiate from an even weaker position.
The threat of a nuclear Iran would have devastating consequences not only for Israel, the US, Europe, and the broader Middle East but, above all, for the Iranian people itself, which once again has been excluded from the discussions.
The truth, however, is that both Israelis and the people of Iran are on the front lines facing this regime and will be the first to feel its wrath, and none of us are sitting at the negotiation table. Our futures are now being dictated by world powers willing to gamble with our lives in the name of diplomacy, despite history’s repeated proof that appeasement only fuels tyranny.
The West cannot afford another unfavorable deal, and certainly not one that the regime will not even adhere to. Yet it is Israelis and Iranians who will be left to pay the price, with our security, our freedom, and our lives.
The writer is a co-founder and CEO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm that specializes in geopolitics.