Iran’s president has written an open letter to the United States asking whether the Trump administration’s war with Iran is an “America First” policy.
“Is this war truly in the interests of the American people?” Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X late Wednesday local time “to the people of the United States,” hours before US President Donald Trump delivered his first national address on the Iran war.
“Is ‘America First’ really one of the priorities of the U.S. government today?” Pezeshikian asked.
He said that Iran “has never in its modern history chosen the path of invasion, expansion, colonialism or domination, nor has it ever started a war,” and that the perception that Iran is a threat is “a product of the political and economic whims of those in power.”
He insisted that Iranian government actions, including daily drone and missile attacks against civilian and military infrastructure across the Gulf, were “legitimate self-defense.”
It is not clear whether other elements of Iran’s leadership were involved in drafting the letter. The Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen or heard from in public since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran more than a month ago.
Mr. Pezeshkian went on to hint at a distinction between the U.S. government and its people, saying that his country is misunderstood and that “the Iranian people do not harbor any hostility toward other countries, including nationals of the United States, Europe, or neighboring countries.”
“This is a principle deeply rooted in Iranian culture and collective consciousness, not a temporary political position.”
In a speech to the nation after the letter was published, President Trump called Iran’s leadership “the most violent and brutal regime on earth” and said it would be an “intolerable threat” if the country acquired nuclear weapons.
President Trump said most of Iran’s military has been destroyed and the Iran war is “nearing completion.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Pezeshkian warned in his letter that the world is at a crossroads.
“Continuing down a path of confrontation is ever more costly and wasteful,” he said.
