Iranian leader's letter to US citizens asks if war is 'America First'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has written to the people of the US in a letter, asking them if they truly believe the current war is waged in their interest.

Pezeshkian, who has held the office since 2024, said the US military strikes against the country were damaging its global standing.

"This reflects a fundamental human truth: when war inflicts irreparable harm on lives, homes, cities, and futures, people will not remain indifferent toward those responsible," he wrote.

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"This raises a fundamental question: Exactly which of the American people's interests are truly being served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behaviour?

"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?"

Pezeshkian claimed Iran had been unfairly portrayed as a regional aggressor and primitive regime, and urged people to speak with Iranians and Iranian immigrants.

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He also accused Israel of leading the US into the war as a proxy, and relying on US lives and tax dollars to fuel it.

"Is 'America First' truly among the priorities of the US government today?" he said.

He warned that the world was "at a crossroads" and said that actions by the US military in Iran, including the targeting of key infrastructure, constituted war crimes and were a sign of "strategic bewilderment".

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"The Iranian people harbour no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, neighbouring countries," he said.

"Even in the face of repeated foreign interventions, and pressures throughout their proud history, Iranians have consistently drawn a clear distinction between governments and the peoples they govern."

Pezeshkian did not mention US President Donald Trump by name nor his administration, but pointed his finger at "the political and economic whims of the powerful".

And he warned that Iran would continue to defend itself, even as Trump claimed the Islamic republic was seeking a ceasefire.

While Pezeshkian's step of ostensibly directing his letter to "the people" of the US is unusual, other foes of the US have been keenly aware of the power of public perception in the country.

Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh was confident that the US public would ultimately tire of the war, particularly given the presence of media throughout the conflict.

In the same conflict, the Tet Offensive of 1968, despite ultimately being a military failure for North Vietnamese forces, shocked the US public deeply and led to a growing discontent with the war's progress.

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