Ono of the main goals of propaganda is to dehumanize the other side. There are plenty of decent people in Iran, and their safety and security also needs to be taken into consideration when making these kind of difficult decisions. If we do not then we truly are the evil empire that they say we are.
"Difficult" is an understatement. That's like saying we just need to make sure guns only wind up in the right hands. Good idea in concept. Pretty close to impossible to find a solution that works.
Most people around the world get the fact that "the people" of a nation are not "their government." Unfortunately, unless the people change their government, nothing will change.
One of the reasons for the "never ending war" in Iraq is to gain a better PR image with the population. Driving out ISIS/The Taliban, killing tyrannical, murderous and oppressive dictators, building roads, improving infrastructure, etc., helps change hearts and minds.
However, it's just not enough. It takes generations to convince people "those others" are not out to destroy us. Refer to the "Russia!! Russia!! Russia!!" demonizing by the tolerant left the last 3 years after laughter when Obama poo-pooed Romney saying Russia is the nation's #1 foreign threat.
It's just too easy to convince people that someone they'll never meet are the enemy.