Why were the Iranians upset with the U.S.?

Answer 1

Many Iranians are upset with the US because US did not respect the Islamic Revolution, which was supported by the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people, and the US has consistently interfered in Iran's domestic policies.

For example:

• US wanted to provide Iran with a loan that set conditions where the US would be responsible for managing the financial affairs of Iran
• There was the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat orchestrated by the US
• There are many other examples that show that the US opposes a truly independent Iran.

Answer 2

Of course, not every Iranian is upset with the United States, but it would be safe to say that the majority of the Iranian population is upset with the US government.

Most Iranians have a deep distrust of US Foreign Policy primarily because of Operation Ajax (a CIA-led coup in Iran in 1953), which replaced the democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh with the autocratic Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi. Additionally, the United States actively supported the Shah during his reign and gave diplomatic protection to him when he was overthrown in the Iranian/Islamic Revolution of 1979. The US government continued an antagonistic relationship with Iran including: launching a military invasion in 1980 to recover the US Embassy Personnel, supporting Saddam Hussein and the Iraqis in the Iran-Iraq War (where at least 750,000 Iranians died), supporting Israel in direct opposition to Iranian proxies like Hezbollah, and leading the imposition of crippling economic sanctions - leading to many Iranians either losing their jobs or losing the ability to support their families.

However, unlike Americans, who have a tendency to hate both the political apparatus of a country AND the citizens of that country, most Iranians actually like American people and a significant subset of those like American values. Since Iran is effectively a theocratic Dictatorship, freedoms of speech and religion are particularly sought after and treasured by many Iranians. This has led to frustration with the US because the US has not supported Iranians who are pushing for these types of Human Rights and cite the lack of US action or statements during the 2009 Green Revolution as evidence of this lack of caring.

Overall, it is the particular decisions of the US government in regards to the Middle East and Iran in particular that have led to the Iranian people being upset with the United States.