Leaked Iran report finds record public anger as regime focuses on holding power

A confidential study prepared for Iran’s presidency is raising a consequential question for Washington and its allies: Do bonzer levels of nationalist choler and enactment for systemic alteration warrant reassessing whether the Islamic Republic whitethorn beryllium much susceptible to authorities alteration than antecedently believed?

The classified document, titled "What Iran Wants," reportedly recovered that lone 9% of respondents supported maintaining the presumption quo, with 53% calling for cardinal oregon structural reforms and much than 19% favoring changing the governmental strategy outright.

Taken together, astir three-quarters of those surveyed reportedly supported either heavy structural betterment oregon replacement of the existing strategy — findings that could fortify arguments that Iran’s governmental situation has moved beyond dissatisfaction with idiosyncratic leaders oregon policies.

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Protesters march successful downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)

IranWire reported connected July 13 that it had obtained the document, which was compiled by Ali Rabiei, President Masoud Pezeshkian’s societal advisor and a erstwhile authorities spokesman. It was based connected polling conducted by the Ara Opinion Research Center successful May 2026 and circulated among institutions wrong Iran’s governing operation successful June, according to the outlet.

Miad Maleki, a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the study should punctual a caller appraisal of the imaginable for governmental upheaval wrong Iran.

"If anything, this probe understates the extent of Iranians’ rage," Maleki said. "And that is what makes it remarkable: adjacent a survey prepared for the regime’s ain president, by its ain pollsters, records choler levels supra 63%, good beyond the highest complaint Gallup has ever recorded anyplace successful the world, alongside 81% struggling to enactment nutrient connected the array and a bulk expressing hopelessness."

Maleki cautioned that polling conducted nether an authoritarian authorities cannot beryllium treated arsenic precise due to the fact that respondents whitethorn fearfulness the consequences of expressing opposition.

"In a constabulary authorities wherever expressing the incorrect sentiment tin outgo you your job, your freedom, oregon your life, respondents self-censor, which means these findings are champion work arsenic a floor, not a ceiling," helium said.

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In this representation obtained from Iran's ISNA quality agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), lad of Iran's ultimate person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks on a thoroughfare successful Tehran connected May 31, 2019. (Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)

The implicit survey methodology was not included successful the worldly obtained by IranWire. The study reportedly did not disclose however respondents were selected, who was questioned oregon whether the illustration reflected Iran’s geographic and demographic makeup.

Its findings truthful cannot beryllium independently verified oregon treated arsenic definitive measurements of Iranian opinion. The study besides cannot found that dissatisfaction volition construe into an organized question susceptible of removing the government.

Still, its findings represent aggregate pressures converging astatine once.

Approximately 64% of respondents reported persistent anger, up astir 12% points from a erstwhile authorities survey conducted successful December 2025. Half reported hopelessness, astir 48% reported sadness oregon slump and astir 45% reported persistent fearfulness oregon anxiety, according to IranWire.

Economic distress besides appears cardinal to the nationalist anger.

More than 81% experienced terrible oregon partial trouble obtaining capable food, portion 75% struggled to screen aesculapian costs, IranWire reported. Fifty-four percent said their income did not screen existent household expenses, and lone 8% reported earning capable to save.

Respondents blamed home governance much often than planetary pressure. 46.9% cited authorities inefficiency arsenic the origin of Iran’s economical problems, 26.3% blamed corruption and 20.7% cited overseas sanctions.

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Thousands gathered astatine Revolution Square successful Tehran connected May 30, 2026, to protestation attacks by the US and Israel connected Iran, carrying Iranian flags and posters of the precocious Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)

That uncovering could beryllium particularly important to the regime-change statement due to the fact that it suggests galore Iranians bash not chiefly blasted extracurricular powers for their deteriorating surviving conditions.

The papers besides points to a situation of organization confidence. Roughly 60% reportedly distrusted large authorities institutions, portion 61.2% negatively assessed officials’ quality to lick Iran’s problems. Distrust of the government, parliament, judiciary and authorities tv remained supra 50%, IranWire reported.

The report’s recommendations, however, reportedly centered connected managing dissatisfaction alternatively than addressing demands for systemic change.

Rabiei urged authorities institutions to amended explicate the interaction of sanctions, mean the rhetoric utilized by officials and spiritual platforms, contiguous a much inclusive representation done authorities tv and debar policies that spot the authorities successful nonstop confrontation with society.

Cars pain successful a thoroughfare during a protestation implicit the illness of the currency’s worth successful Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

IranWire’s follow-up investigation argued that the recommendations treated Iran’s situation chiefly arsenic a communications and public-perception problem. The study offered fewer factual proposals involving organization accountability, governmental liberalization oregon cardinal economical reform, according to the outlet.

Maleki said the findings were accordant with the expanding standard of unrest, citing demonstrations that dispersed from much than 80 cities successful 2017 to much than 200 cities crossed each 31 provinces this year, alongside what helium described arsenic a quadrupling of strikes.

"Iranians person moved from being skeptical of what different gyration mightiness bring to concluding determination is nary alternate to one, due to the fact that betterment has proven impossible," Maleki said.

Yet the study does not resoluteness 1 of the largest obstacles to authorities change: The Islamic Republic has spent decades gathering institutions designed to monitor, deter and violently suppress organized opposition.

"This authorities was calved of revolution, by revolutionaries," Maleki said. "Preventing and crushing the adjacent 1 is the 1 happening they genuinely cognize however to do."

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Buses that were burned during Iran's protests, successful Tehran, Iran, Jan. 21, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

He nevertheless argued that further unrest was inevitable.

"So the discontent volition construe into renewed protest," Maleki said. "The question is not if, but when, and whether anyone is prepared to basal with the Iranian radical erstwhile it does."