There are consequences when open societies speak too loudly about the deficit of freedom in closed ones. When a U.S. president speaks plainly about a dictator, it undermines his regime’s legitimacy at home.    

With that in mind, imagine how delighted Khamenei must have been with U.S. President Barack Obama’s message last week on Persian New Year, or Nowruz. Obama urged the Iranian people to press their leaders to accept a nuclear deal he said would help end Iran’s international isolation. “Now it’s up to all of us, Iranians and Americans, to seize this moment and the possibilities that can bloom in this new season,” Obama said. He concluded by saying: “My message to you, the people of Iran, is that together we have to speak up for the future that we seek.”

It’s as if Iran is just like France or Brazil. In those countries, leaders have to care about popular opinion because they have to run for election. But in Iran, only Khamenei decides whether or not to take Obama’s offer. Iran’s people have nothing to do with it.