From the Texas Reporter
Why many ordinary Iranians might sincerely see the United States as a terrorist nation
Try an exercise in perspective.
Imagine you are not an American reading this.
Imagine you are a shopkeeper in Tehran, a taxi driver in Isfahan, or a teacher in Shiraz. You are not a politician. You are not a soldier. You are just trying to run a business, feed your kids, and live your life.
Now imagine the history you grew up with.
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1953 — Your democracy is destroyed
Your country once had a democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.
He nationalized Iran’s oil industry so your country’s resources would benefit Iranians instead of foreign companies.
The United States and Britain respond by orchestrating the 1953 Iranian coup d’état.
Your elected government is overthrown.
The Central Intelligence Agency helps reinstall Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.
He rules for decades as an authoritarian monarch.
From your perspective, the world’s most powerful democracy just destroyed yours.
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1960s–1970s — Secret police rule
Under the Shah, a feared secret police force called SAVAK emerges.
Opposition figures disappear.
Political prisoners are tortured.
Dissidents are watched and arrested.
The Shah is armed, trained, and supported by the United States.
So from your perspective, the repression in your country is being backed by a foreign power.
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1979 — Revolution explodes
Eventually the anger erupts.
The Iranian Revolution overthrows the Shah.
Soon after, the Iran hostage crisis begins when Iranian students seize the U.S. embassy.
Americans remember that moment as humiliation.
Iranians remember 1953.
Two nations remembering completely different histories.
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1980s — War and tragedy
Then your country is invaded by Saddam Hussein, beginning the Iran–Iraq War.
Hundreds of thousands die.
The United States supports Iraq diplomatically and strategically during much of the war.
Then, in 1988, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655.
290 civilians die.
Men. Women. Children.
To Americans, it is called a tragic mistake.
To many Iranians, it looks like their civilians were killed and the world moved on.
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1990s–2010s — Sanctions crush the economy
Then come the sanctions.
Decades of them.
Financial sanctions. Oil sanctions. Banking sanctions.
Iran is locked out of the global financial system.
If you are that Iranian taxi driver or shopkeeper:
• your currency collapses
• medicine becomes harder to import
• inflation destroys your savings
• jobs disappear
And none of it was your decision.
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2015 — A moment of hope
Then something changes.
Iran signs the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal.
Sanctions are lifted.
Frozen Iranian funds are released.
For a moment, ordinary people think the future might finally improve.
Businesses reopen.
Foreign investment begins returning.
Families start planning again.
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2018 — The deal is abandoned
Then the United States withdraws from the agreement under Donald Trump.
Sanctions snap back harder than before.
Iran’s currency crashes.
Inflation skyrockets.
Your life becomes harder overnight.
From your perspective, the most powerful country on Earth simply changed its mind and crushed your economy again.
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2020 — A national leader is killed
The United States kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport.
Americans see him as responsible for attacks on U.S. forces.
But in Iran, millions attend his funeral.
To many Iranians, it looks like a foreign power assassinated one of their top national leaders.
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2025 — The United States bombs Iran
In June 2025, the United States carries out major airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, using bunker-busting bombs and cruise missiles. 
From the perspective of an ordinary Iranian, the world’s most powerful military just bombed their country.
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2026 — War expands
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launch a massive wave of strikes across Iran targeting military infrastructure and leadership. 
Hundreds of strikes hit missile bases, command centers, and other facilities across the country.
Civilian areas are also affected in the chaos of war.
Then the bombing continues.
U.S. strikes hit naval targets in the Strait of Hormuz, destroying Iranian mine-laying vessels during the conflict. 
And more recently, U.S. airstrikes targeted facilities on Kharg Island, the hub for most of Iran’s oil exports. 
From the perspective of that Iranian shopkeeper or taxi driver, the most powerful country on Earth is once again bombing their nation.
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So imagine how it looks from their side
You didn’t plan coups.
You didn’t write nuclear policy.
You didn’t control the government.
You just tried to live your life.
Yet the history you lived through includes:
• your democracy overthrown
• decades of sanctions crippling your economy
• civilian airliners shot down
• your leaders assassinated
• your country bombed repeatedly
• your oil exports targeted
• your currency collapsing again and again
So when Iranian leaders call the United States a terrorist nation, many Americans dismiss it as propaganda.
But if you were the one living through this history…
You might see the world very differently.
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Understanding this perspective does not mean supporting Iran’s government.
But history looks very different depending on where you stand.
And if we want peace, we have to understand how the people on the other side see the story.
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