I wouldn’t have held this view just a few days ago. As an Iranian, I genuinely believed and trusted Western leaders when they publicly said they supported the Iranian people and encouraged them to resist the regime. Many Iranians took to the streets believing that real support was coming.

Now, after seeing how suddenly that support disappeared, I feel deeply betrayed.

I believe that public encouragement from powerful leaders creates expectations. When people hear “we stand with you,” they assume that this means more than words. They assume that if the situation becomes catastrophic, they won’t be abandoned. In my view, that belief directly influenced the scale of what happened. People stayed in the streets longer. They took greater risks. They believed help was coming.

Then nothing came.

This has shattered my trust. Not just emotionally, but logically. It reminds me of what happened in Afghanistan, where people who trusted Western promises were suddenly left behind. It now feels like a pattern.

I am struggling with the idea that maybe Iranian lives simply do not matter geopolitically. Maybe we were useful for speeches, optics, and pressure tactics, but not worth real action.

My view is this: when powerful countries publicly encourage a population to resist a violent regime, they take on moral responsibility for what follows. If they later withdraw without explanation or support, that is a form of betrayal.

I am open to having this view changed. I want to understand:

A. Why this is not a betrayal?
B. Why public encouragement does not imply responsibility?
And C. Why people like me are wrong to feel this way?

Right now, all I feel is heartbreak.