What should the U.S. do to help pro-democracy Iranians

For 34 years, every American attempt to reach a deal with the Islamic regime have failed, the IRI was really born when it invaded the US embassy and turned anti-Americanism into a pilar of its ideoligical existance and three decades later, still needs hostility toward America for survival, there is no good or appeasement America can do toward the mullahs that would turn the mullahs into friends or at least end hostility and terrorism (even delivering them warheads and transcontinental delivery missiles can't change the ideology of the IRI, they'd simply use them against America).

The Islamic Regime needs America to remain its ideological enemy for ideoligical survival and considers any reconciliation with the US as an ideological suicide. It was founded based on anti-Americanism, for decades has blamed all the world problems and even its own failures on America, destruction of America and Israel is the regime's ideological goal and will continue to be hostile to the US until the last day. The most powerful regime think tanks, the secret society which Khamenei belongs to, actually believe that destruction of America will facilitate the return of the 12th imam and the Shia will rule the world! A terror sponsoring fanatical regime that supports nearly all the tertorist organizations in the world cannot be contained and would become much more dangerous once the nuclear weapons make them untouchable. 

Regime change in Iran is the only solution and will be the beginning of the end of most conflicts in the world, specially the middle east. The US would no longer need so many miltary bases in the middle east once the biggest threat to the region's stability removed and that alone can save the taxpayers billions aside from economic gains with a cooperative and peaceful post-IRI Iran. 

Regime change can be achieved with little or no miltary engagement if the right groups of Iranians, the secular democratic forces empowered. The majority of Iranians, specially the youth are extremely pro-American and we've always regarded America as our natural ally in our struggle for secular democracy. The Iranian society today is one of the most secular, if not the most secular and westernized societies in the Muslim world, I have lived in both Iran and Turkey and the Turks are arguably more religious than the average Americans, the secularization and de-Islamization will continue as long as the Islamic oppression is in power and the ideologically bankrupt regime will collapse sooner or later, my concern is the type of chaos the dying suicidal regime can cause or prepare to cause if given too much time, specially if it becomes a nuclear armed state. In 1980s the same regime extended the Iran-Iraq war by 7 years mainly because mullahs wanted to liberate a worthless desert "holy" Shiite city of Karbala from the Sunni Ba'thists and from there march to Jerusalem and liberate Qods mosque! They sent 10,000s of 12-16 years old children to clear minefields by ruining across the fields while holding a plastic key to heaven Khomeini gave them! 

Now the same regime that has lost all its legitimacy, wouldn't mind sacrificing the whole country by starting a nuclear war if serves its ideological purpose. I am not a fear monger, but knowing the maniac fanatics who have ruled Iran for 34 years and even a slight 1% chance of such outcome, I don't think any sane world leader should take a chance. 

Every time the US leaders sent greeting to the illegitimate tyrants of Iran, millions of Iranians express their anger. The latest example of that was Obama's Nowruz message to the leaders who tried to ban the holiday because it has a pre-Islamic origin, is secular and goes against the IRI's Islamist values! 

What the US can/should do:

1- Focus on human rights and the demands of the Iranian people as if the people are our natural allies fighting our enemies which is truly the case

2- Treat the IRI as an illegitimate occupying regime it truly is, even when negotiating with them, never accept preconditions that opposes support for human rights, never betray your own principles or you'll be the loser

3- Don't treat the Iranian people as Muslims, treat them as humans the way America treats the people in the west, the ones that we really must empower would recognize that and further outreach will be possible, most Iranians are now alienated with Islam and more sympathetic with the western world, most seculars and nationalists feel humiliated when America treats them as Muslims instead of using a more universal tone, Iran is not an Arab country like Iraq and its mainstream culture is not Islamic anymore, the Iranians would love to see that America recognizes that, the good part of Obama's Nowruz message was the very beginning, started the Persian term Doroud instead of the Islamic origin Salam (hello) , that part every Iranian liked, the rest of the message was mixed feeling mainly because much of that message was directed to the regime instead of the people.

4- The US leadership should not miss a chance to support the Iranian people's aspirations for freedom and secular democracy and specially should openly recognize the Iranian people's desire for a non-religious form of government and a real democracy.

5- Smart sanctions, the sanctions should be aimed at bankrupting the regime, specially cutting the regime's revenue from oil experts, my friends are advising the congress and senate on oil sanctions and I think the sanctions are already becoming more effective, but a little late.

7- Reform the taxpayer funded VOA, remove pro-regime and reformists from it so the secular democrats can have av stronger voice, millions of Iranians follow the VoA Persian programs daily via satellite, no need to promote regime change, Iranians desperately want it, just give them a voice. 

6- calculate the cost of one day all out war and instead of a war allocate around the same amount of money to fund nonpartisan Iranian groups with clear anti-IRI stance that can act as facilitators (do not fund the individual political parties, help human rights, refugee, educational programs about democratic values,... it requires coordination with various departments, NGOs, think tanks and allies while helping specific groups including the organizations that needed to be created from scratch that'd act as coordinators with for the overall pro-democracy.Iranian opposition, not a specific group or party)

7- the reformists of the Islamic Republic are not the solution because the system cannot be reformed, they can only become useful if join a regime change coalition

8- Don't let the Saudi side of the Shia-Sunni interest interfere, pro-democracy Iranians don't care about that, most of them are actually optimistic that the Sunnis fighting Assad will win and one of the main pillars of the regime will be lost

9- Make the nuclear case less about the safety of Israel and more about regional/global/US security, threat of nuclear arms race and the threat to the people of Iran, always relate human rights to any Iranian situation to make it more effective.

There are many other steps that should be taken, these are just some of the primary steps.