Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an open letter to the American people, accusing Washington of acting as a “proxy for Israel,” rejecting claims that Iran poses a threat, and blaming decades of mistrust on US intervention, sanctions and recent strikes. The letter comes amid heightened tensions, alongside former US President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran sought a ceasefire, which Tehran has denied.In the message, Pezeshkian said Iran has “never, in its modern history, chosen the path of aggression, expansion, colonialism, or domination,” adding that the Iranian people “harbor no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America.” He rejected prevailing narratives, saying “portraying Iran as a threat is neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts,” and described such claims as efforts to “manufacture an enemy” to “justify pressure, maintain military dominance, sustain the arms industry, and control strategic markets.”He also pointed to the US military presence in the region, saying Washington has “concentrated the largest number of its forces, bases, and military capabilities around Iran,” and called recent actions “aggressions” that have targeted infrastructure and civilians.Tracing the roots of tensions to the 1953 coup, Pezeshkian called it “an illegal American intervention” that derailed Iran’s democratic process and restored dictatorship. He said distrust was compounded by US support for the Shah, backing of Saddam Hussein during the 1980s war, sanctions, and what he described as “unprovoked military aggression” carried out twice during negotiations. Despite this, he said, Iran has strengthened key sectors including literacy, education, technology, healthcare and infrastructure.A central theme of the letter was his allegation that the US is acting in Israel’s interest. “Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime?” he asked, adding that Israel is “manufacturing an Iranian threat” to divert attention from Gaza and seeks to make Iran “fight to the last American soldier and the last American taxpayer dollar.” He also questioned whether “America First” remains a real priority for Washington.The letter comes amid escalating tensions marked by attacks on energy and industrial infrastructure, sanctions, and stalled diplomacy. While Trump has claimed Iran approached the US for a ceasefire, Iranian officials have rejected this, calling it false and maintaining that no such proposal has been made, underscoring the deepening standoff between the two sides.
