Irans Pezeshkian asks US public about interests served by war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has written an open letter to the US public, urging them to look beyond “a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives” surrounding the ongoing conflict with Iran. The letter was shared by Iran’s state-run broadcaster PressTV on Wednesday.

In the letter, Pezeshkian questions whether President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy is truly a priority for the US government today. He asks which American interests are being served by the war on Iran and whether actions such as bombing a country “back to the stone ages” serve any purpose other than damaging the US’ global standing.

Pezeshkian also rejected portrayals of Tehran as a threat, citing instances where Iran was attacked while its negotiators were participating in multilateral nuclear talks. He noted that attacking Iran’s vital infrastructure targets the Iranian people and carries consequences beyond Iran’s borders.

The letter comes after Trump issued his latest threat against Tehran on social media, stating that the US would continue to “blast Iran into oblivion” unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. However, Iranian officials denied that their new regime president had requested a ceasefire.

According to Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, the conflict has become a “war of narratives” between the US and Iranian governments. Pezeshkian’s letter emphasizes Iran’s right to defend itself from US-Israeli attacks, while also stressing that Iran holds no enmity towards other nations or the American people.

In his letter, Pezeshkian also questioned whether the Trump administration was “manipulated” by Israel in launching the war against Iran. He asked if America is entering this aggression as a proxy for Israel and if Israel’s goal is to divert global attention away from its crimes towards the Palestinians.

Trump is set to deliver a speech on Wednesday evening, sharing what the White House described as an “important update on Iran”.

Source: Al Jazeera