A confidential report prepared for Iran's presidency reveals profound public discontent, with only 9% of respondents supporting the status quo and a substantial majority calling for systemic change or fundamental reforms. The findings, based on polling conducted in May 2026, suggest that anger levels are at historic highs, exacerbated by severe economic distress, including difficulties in affording food.
The document, titled "What Iran Wants," was compiled by Ali Rabiei, social adviser to President Masoud Pezeshkian, and circulated among governing institutions in June. According to IranWire, which obtained the report, 53% of respondents favored structural reforms and over 19% supported changing the political system altogether. Taken together, nearly 75% expressed a desire for significant change, indicating a crisis that extends beyond dissatisfaction with specific leaders or policies.
Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that the report's findings might even understate the depth of public rage. "Even a survey prepared for the regime’s own president, by its own pollsters, records anger levels above 63%, well beyond the highest rate Gallup has ever recorded anywhere in the world, alongside 81% struggling to put food on the table and a majority expressing hopelessness," Maleki told Fox News Digital. However, he cautioned that polling in an authoritarian state can be subject to self-censorship, meaning the figures likely represent a minimum level of discontent.
Economic hardship appears to be a central driver of the public's anger. More than 81% of respondents reported significant or partial difficulty obtaining enough food, and 75% struggled with medical costs. Fifty-four percent stated their income was insufficient to cover current household expenses, with only 8% able to save money. When asked about the causes of Iran's economic problems, respondents more frequently blamed domestic governance, with 46.9% citing government inefficiency and 26.3% pointing to corruption, compared to 20.7% who attributed issues to foreign sanctions.
The report also highlighted a crisis of confidence in state institutions. Approximately 60% of those surveyed reportedly distrusted major government bodies, and 61.2% had a negative assessment of officials' ability to resolve the country's problems. Distrust levels for the government, parliament, judiciary, and state television all remained above 50%.
Despite the widespread public dissatisfaction, the report's recommendations reportedly focused on managing public perception rather than addressing demands for systemic change. Rabiei's suggestions included better explanations of sanctions' impact, moderating official rhetoric, presenting a more inclusive image on state television, and avoiding policies that directly confront society. IranWire's analysis suggested these recommendations treated the crisis as primarily a communication problem, offering few concrete proposals for accountability, liberalization, or economic reform.
Maleki noted that the expanding scale of unrest, with demonstrations in over 200 cities and a quadrupling of strikes, reflects a shift in public sentiment. "Iranians have moved from being skeptical of what another revolution might bring to concluding there is no alternative to one, because reform has proven impossible," he said. He added that while the regime is adept at suppressing opposition, further unrest is inevitable, though the timing and preparedness for it remain uncertain.