Leaked Iranian Presidential Report Reveals Unprecedented Public Anger and Calls for Regime Change
A secret and dramatic report from the Iranian Presidential Office, leaked online recently, exposes an alarming level of public anger within Iran, described as the highest ever recorded globally. The report reveals that over 90 percent of Iranian citizens openly demand fundamental change or complete replacement of the current regime. Authored by Ali Rabiei, a former senior intelligence official and current social affairs advisor to President Masoud Pezhakian, the document starkly contradicts official state media propaganda that portrays national unity and widespread support for the leadership.
Based on a comprehensive and confidential survey conducted by the ARA Research Center during April and May, shortly after the January mass protests and violent government crackdown, the report was circulated among top government and security officials in June. It highlights a public anger index of 63.6 percent, far surpassing the previous global record of 47 percent held by Chad, and places Iran at the top of global anger and mourning levels, exceeding war-torn countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The report also debunks myths about Iranian public opinion on the ongoing military conflict with the United States. While 44 percent support maintaining a ceasefire and continuing diplomatic negotiations, trust in negotiators and generals is nearly zero, with widespread fear of renewed fighting. Emotional distress is pervasive, with about half the population feeling hopeless, nearly 48 percent suffering from clinical depression, and 45 percent experiencing chronic anxiety, especially among educated youth who are vital for economic recovery.
The document admits that nearly half of Iranians did not participate in government-organized pro-regime rallies, with 61 percent abstention in Tehran. The mass recruitment campaign for homeland defense volunteers failed, partly due to social stigma against association with the regime. National pride remains high, with over 85 percent identifying primarily as Iranian rather than Iranian Muslims, but religious observance is collapsing, exemplified by a sharp decline in Ramadan fasting from 79 percent in 1975 to just 30 percent this year.
A third of Iranians would emigrate immediately if given the chance, rising to about half among young adults under 30 and university graduates. The report concludes that citizens are abandoning faith in the regime’s future while retaining national pride, seeking personal survival alternatives. Rabiei’s recommendations to the leadership focus on intensified propaganda blaming international sanctions rather than regime corruption for economic woes and advise security forces to avoid direct street confrontations, explaining recent relaxed enforcement of dress codes in Tehran. Analysts note Rabiei’s use of the term "presentism" to describe Iran’s societal mood, a state of despair and frustration reminiscent of the pre-1979 revolution era under the Shah.
