Iranian President says in letter that Iran harbors no enmity towards ordinary Americans

Iranian President ‌Masoud Pezeshkian said in a ⁠letter addressed to ‌the American ‌people ‌that ⁠his country harbors ⁠no enmity towards ordinary ‌Americans, on Wednesday (April 1, 2026).

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He ‌said in his letter that ⁠portraying Iran as ‌a threat was “neither consistent with ‌historical reality nor with present-day observable ⁠facts.”

President ‌Masoud Pezeshkian said in his letter, “The Iranian people harbour no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighbouring countries. 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. This is a deeply rooted principle in Iranian culture and collective consciousness — not a temporary political stance.

“For this reason, portraying Iran as a threat is neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts. Such a perception is the product of political and economic whims of the powerful — the need to manufacture an enemy in order to justify pressure, maintain military dominance, sustain the arms industry, and control strategic markets. In such an environment, if a threat does not exist, it is invented”, the letter reads.

Commenting on U.S. army bases in Gulf countries, he said, “Within this same framework, the United States has concentrated the largest number of its forces, bases, and military capabilities around Iran — a country that, at least since the founding of the United States, has never initiated a war. Recent American aggressions launched from these very bases have demonstrated how threatening such a military presence truly is. Naturally, no country confronted with such conditions would forgo strengthening its defensive capabilities. 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.”

#### Pezeshkian on U.S. working as ‘proxy for Israel’

Mr. Pezeshkian said, “Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime? Is it not true that Israel, by manufacturing an Iranian threat, seeks to divert global attention away from its crimes toward the Palestinians? Is it not evident that Israel now aims to fight Iran to the last American soldier and the last American taxpayer dollar — shifting the burden of its delusions onto Iran, the region, and the United States itself in pursuit of illegitimate interests?”

“Is ‘America First’ truly among the priorities of the U.S. government today?”, Mr. Pezeshkian wrote in his address to U.S. citizens.

He added, “I invite you to look beyond the machinery of misinformation — an integral part of this aggression — and instead speak with those who have visited Iran. Observe the many accomplished Iranian immigrants —educated in Iran — who now teach and conduct research at the world’s most prestigious universities, or contribute to the most advanced technology firms in the West. Do these realities align with the distortions you are being told about Iran and its people?”

To the people of the United States of America pic.twitter.com/3uAL4FZgY7— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 1, 2026

To the people of the United States of America pic.twitter.com/3uAL4FZgY7

(With inputs from Reuters)

Published - April 02, 2026 07:39 am IST

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