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To be clear, I am talking only about Iranians who say "Death to America" but who actually mean "Down with America." I'm not talking about Iranians in general.
Let's put it this way: If there were some American who said "Death to Russia!" but actually meant "Down with Russia!!," I would be pretty surprised if that person did anything whatsoever to prevent a brutal terrorist attack against Russia, even if it were a matter of just picking up a telephone.
That's an interesting question, but I think it's beside the point. The point is this:
Over the years, Iran's leadership has repeatedly said things along the lines of "Death to America!," "Death to Israel!," and "Israel will be wiped off the map!"
Many people reasonably interpret this as evidence that Iran's leadership has major animosity towards the United States and Israel; that when these statements are combined with Iran's violent and hostile conduct towards Israel and/or the US, it is reasonable to engage in our own countermeasures, such as sanctions, bombing nuclear sites, etc.
Iran's defenders have tried to dispute this evidence. Among other things, they claim that "Death to America" actually means "Down with America," and that "Israel will be wiped off the map" actually means there should be a change in government in Israel.
It appears these arguments do not stand up to scrutiny.
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