Iran's Pezeshkian writes to Americans: 'We harbour no enmity towards you'

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday released a letter addressed to the people of America as the war continues to rock West Asia. In the letter, the Iranian leader said that the “path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before” and suggested the possibility of diplomatic engagement.

It is pertinent to note that Pezenshkian's open letter came just hours before Trump was scheduled to address the nation on Wednesday evening with what he described as an “important update” on the Iran war. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said on social media that Iran had requested a ceasefire. However, Tehran has denied the claim.

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Meanwhile, in the letter, Pezeshkian did not lay out specific steps for how further conflict could be avoided, but his tone was conciliatory. “Today, the world stands at a crossroads,” the Iranian president said in the letter. “The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come," he added.

What was in the letter

It is not clear whether Pezeshkian’s letter represented a consensus among Iran’s leaders. Earlier in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Trump's claim that Iran was seeking a cease-fire was “false and baseless.”

In the letter published in both English and Persian, Pezeshkian’s tone also swung into defiance and patronisation. He recalled historical lessons about Iran surviving centuries of invasions and upheaval, asserting, “Iran has never initiated a war. Yet it has resolutely and bravely repelled those who have attacked it.”

He laid out Tehran’s longstanding grievances against the United States, and recapped nuclear negotiations that he said ultimately led to Israel and the United States launching surprise military strikes on February 28. However, he suggested that there was a distinction between America’s government and its people.

“The Iranian people harbour no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe or neighbouring countries,” he wrote. “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.”

The Iranian president also defended his country's retaliatory attacks against Israel and Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. But he did not address Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused chaos in the global economy.

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