Iran’s president to Americans: Look beyond war propaganda fog, reject ‘manufactured threat'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has released an open letter to the American people, questioning whether Washington is truly putting “America First” or merely acting as a “proxy for Israel” willing to fight “to the last American soldier.”

In a Wednesday message addressing those “who, amid a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives, continue to seek the truth,” Pezeshkian began by framing Iran as a historically non-aggressive power. 

He noted that despite its long history and regional strength, “Iran has never, in its modern history, chosen the path of aggression, expansion, colonialism, or domination,” adding that it has only ever “resolutely and bravely repelled those who have attacked it.”

The president sought to draw a sharp line between governments and their citizens, stating that the Iranian people harbor no ill will towards Americans. “The Iranian people harbor no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighboring countries” he wrote, describing this distinction as “a deeply rooted principle in Iranian culture and collective consciousness—not a temporary political stance.”

Building on this theme, Pezeshkian noted that the perception of Iran as a danger is an invention. He said such a view is “the product of political and economic whims of the powerful—the need to manufacture an enemy in order to justify pressure, maintain military dominance, sustain the arms industry, and control strategic markets.” 

“In such an environment, if a threat does not exist, it is invented,” he added. 

He pointed to the heavy US military presence surrounding Iran as the true threat in the region and defended Iran’s military posture as purely defensive. 

The letter comes as US and Israel have launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran since February 28. The United States is using its regional bases and the territory of Iran's neighboring states to wage its illegal attacks which has left more than 2000 of Iranian civilians killed, including more than 200 children. 

"Recent American aggressions launched from these very bases have demonstrated how threatening such a military presence truly is," he said, adding, "Naturally, no country confronted with such conditions would forgo strengthening its defensive capabilities."

“What Iran has done—and continues to do—is a measured response grounded in legitimate self-defense, and by no means an initiation of war or aggression,” he stressed. 

The letter traces the origins of current hostility to the 1953 coup d’état, which he slammed as “an illegal American intervention” that “disrupted Iran’s democratic process, reinstated dictatorship, and sowed deep distrust among Iranians toward US policies.” 

He stated this distrust was compounded by subsequent US support for the Shah, its backing of Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, crippling sanctions, and recent “unprovoked military aggression.”

Despite these historical pressures, Pezeshkian noted that Iran has not been broken but has “grown stronger in many areas,” citing that literacy rates have tripled to over 90% since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and noting significant advances in technology, healthcare, and infrastructure.

"These are measurable, observable realities that stand independent of fabricated narratives," he added. 

Pezeshkian stressed that the “destructive and inhumane impact” of the US-Israeli aggression on ordinary Iranians should not be underestimated. He warned that the recent bombings and military actions carry a profound human cost, stating that “when war inflicts irreparable harm on lives, homes, cities, and futures, people will not remain indifferent toward those responsible.”

Pezeshkian then pivoted to directly question the motives and benefits of the US military actions for the American people themselves. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he asked. 

“Does the massacre of innocent children, the destruction of cancer-treatment pharmaceutical facilities, or boasting about bombing a country ‘back to the stone ages’ serve any purpose other than further damaging the United States’ global standing?”

He reminded his audience that Iran had “pursued negotiations, reached an agreement, and fulfilled all its commitments.” He was referring to the 2015 nuclear deal, which was ruined by Donald Trump after he withdrew from the agreement in 2018 during his first term. 

"The decision to withdraw from that agreement, escalate toward confrontation, and launch two acts of aggression in the midst of negotiations were destructive choices made by the US government—choices that served the delusions of a foreign aggressor," added the president. 

He condemned recent strikes on his country’s infrastructure as a “war crime” that directly targets the Iranian populace and serves as a “sign of strategic bewilderment and an inability to achieve a sustainable solution.”

The letter went on to shed light on the influence of Israel on US policy. “Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime?” Pezeshkian wrote. 

"Is it not true that Israel, by manufacturing an Iranian threat, seeks to divert global attention away from its crimes toward the Palestinians?" he asked. 

He continued, asking if it is not evident that Israel “now aims to fight Iran to the last American soldier and the last American taxpayer dollar.”

He concluded this line of reasoning with a direct challenge to the US administration’s stated priorities: “Is ‘America First’ truly among the priorities of the US government today?”

Pezeshkian invited Americans to “look beyond the machinery of misinformation,” suggesting they speak with visitors to Iran or observe the contributions of Iranian immigrants in Western academia and technology as a counter-narrative to official rhetoric.

The Iranian president declared that the world “stands at a crossroads.” 

"Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before," he wrote, adding, "The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come."

"Throughout its millennia of proud history, Iran has outlasted many aggressors. All that remains of them are tarnished names in history, while Iran endures—resilient, dignified, and proud," he added. 
 

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