After US President Donald Trump paused all foreign aid and even threatened to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), many Iranian activists raised concerns about the possible impacts of Trump’s policies on the agency’s Iran-related programs, with some saying this move could help the Islamic Republic further restrict the Iranian people’s access to information.
Several Iranian human rights organizations, Internet freedom programs, and activists engaged in media and civil society work received notices that their funding would be suspended for three months.
Trump signed an executive order on January 20th, his first day in office as US President, suspending foreign development assistance and aid for 90 days to allow for a review of its efficiency and alignment with his America First policy stance.
Following the move, the US State Department has stopped most ongoing international foreign aid programs and paused the initiation of new assistance, according to an internal memo distributed to officials and US embassies abroad.
Official US government figures show the American government is the largest donor of international aid worldwide, spending $39 billion in 2024, out of which $65 million was allocated to funding the State Department-funded Near-East Regional Democracy (NERD).
According to the US Congressional Research Service, NERD is the leading foreign assistance channel through which the United States has supported human rights and civil society in Iran since 2009.
“We have been told in writing that we must stop all work on the program and not incur any new costs after January 24th and cancel as many obligations as possible,“ one State Department grantee said. “It doesn’t look like anyone has given thought to the implications of this decision... The lack of clarity of the notice we received is just absurd. It is unclear how long this process will take.“
Among the grantees are Persian media outlets that publish uncensored news for Iranian citizens, as well as human rights organizations that document human rights abuses in Iran, which is instrumental in keeping the Islamic Republic accountable.
Some US funds also cover the expenses of Virtual Public Network (VPN) services, which ordinary Iranians use to circumvent the Islamic Republic's censorship. Following the aid cuts, many of these services, which many Iranians used following the Mahsa Amini protests, will have to stop.
“It is a very dangerous move because the issue of internet freedom is very vital, both to the people of Iran and the allies of Iranian people in the West,“ a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity expert said.
But the consequences of Trump’s policies will go beyond Internet censorship, activists say, as the pause in US foreign aid will “impose restrictions on projects that address human rights violations or investigate governmental and military corruption which have impacted Iran's economy and social conditions in favor of foreign terrorist activities and money laundering,“ according to one activist.
"This decision by the Trump administration would be a reciprocal gift to the Islamic Republic and its corrupt officials, the Revolutionary Guard, and money-laundering networks in the West," the activist said.
Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen also criticized the pause of US foreign aid assistance, calling Elon Musk’s plan to shut down USAID as a gift to America’s adversaries, including Iran.
"Make no mistake this effort by Elon Musk and so-called DOGE to shut down the Agency of international development is an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia to China, to Iran and others because AID is an essential instrument of US foreign policy and US national security policy," Van Hollen said.
