“This time you fight. Help from the people is on its way,” one Iran International audience told the US president, turning back on Trump a phrase he used during earlier anti-government protests.
Trump asked the question on Truth Social on Tuesday night while rejecting an ABC News report that he was seeking to bring Iran into negotiations.
“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table… I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” Trump wrote.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” Trump added.
‘Help is on the way’: to whom?
Thousands of responses sent to Iran International pointed to a common argument: Iranians have repeatedly confronted the Islamic Republic, but many are reluctant to return to the streets without greater confidence that its forces can no longer suppress them and that outside powers will not change course.
‘People have been fighting for 47 years’
Several respondents pointed to successive waves of anti-government protests in Iran and the heavy costs borne by demonstrators.
“The people of Iran fought and rose up a thousand times beyond their capacity. Now it is time for other countries to help them,” one wrote.
“The people of Iran have been fighting for 47 years,” another told Trump.
Others pointed to protesters who took to the streets on January 8 and 9, asking when people who confronted government forces without weapons would receive meaningful assistance.
Some respondents said further negotiations between Washington and the Islamic Republic would undermine Iranians seeking political change.
“This government does not represent the people. Negotiating with the killers of the people is a mistake. Help so that the people themselves can finish the job,” one respondent wrote.
Fear of another crackdown
The prospect of another crackdown featured prominently in the messages, with people arguing that the capacity of security forces would have to be weakened before another uprising could succeed.
One described reducing the strength of forces used against demonstrators as the most important condition for renewed street protests.
“No matter how brave you are, if you know you will be killed by snipers, it is foolish to fight empty-handed,” another respondent wrote, referring to Trump’s previous calls for Iranians to protest.
On March 15, Trump said: “The protesters have no guns. And I know you’re a brave person, but I don’t think you’d be protesting. And so I think it’s very hard for them to protest. I fully understand it.”
Another person said ordinary people could not be treated as “cannon fodder,” adding that an uprising without a plan would be a mistake.
Several respondents said people would return to the streets when they believed the authorities’ ability to suppress demonstrations had been sufficiently weakened. Others pointed to disabling checkpoints and disrupting security structures as steps that could change the balance.
A scene of protests in Tehran on January 8, 2026
“Mr. Trump, continue the naval blockade and add a land blockade. Give [Benjamin] Netanyahu a free hand to destroy the system of repression, and then the people of Iran are ready to overthrow the Islamic Republic,” another one wrote.
Some also called for increased pressure on the Islamic Republic and clearer international backing for exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi during a potential transition.
Trump’s ‘help is on its way’ message returns
A separate strand of responses focused on mistrust of Washington and concern that Trump could encourage another uprising only to resume negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
“We are afraid that we will come out and you will negotiate with the mullahs’ regime again,” read a message.
“The people of Iran will rise when you do not negotiate with this murderous regime,” another wrote.
Trump had urged Iranians to continue protesting during demonstrations in January and told them that “help is on its way,” a message several respondents invoked in answering his latest question.
Iranians plead with Trump not to negotiate with the Islamic Republic
“When you said help was on its way, people came into the streets, but you sat down and made a deal with the government.”
The respondent added that if Iranians returned to the streets, they would do so “to fight and regain their own freedom,” rather than to advance US strategy.