The Dispatch
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian published an open letter to the people of the United States on April 1, 2026, via PressTV, the English-language Iranian state broadcasting network. The letter was published at 6:32 PM local time. It is addressed to the American people and to all those who, as the letter states, amid a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives, continue to seek the truth and aspire to a better life. The letter opens with the phrase: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
The letter traces the history of US-Iran relations from the 1953 coup — described as an illegal American intervention aimed at preventing the nationalization of Iran’s own resources — through America’s support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the imposition of sanctions, and the current military operation. Pezeshkian states that Iran has never, in its modern history, initiated a war. He states that Iran pursued negotiations, reached an agreement, and fulfilled all its commitments, and that the decision to withdraw from that agreement and launch military action were choices made by the U.S. government. He states that attacks on Iran’s energy and industrial infrastructure constitute a war crime. He states that the Iranian people harbor no enmity toward ordinary Americans. He states that Iran, throughout its millennia of proud history, has outlasted many aggressors, and that all that remains of them are tarnished names in history.
The letter poses a number of questions for the American people. Pezeshkian asks whether the United States has entered the conflict as a proxy for Israel. He asks whether Israel manufactured the Iranian threat to divert attention from its actions toward Palestinians. He asks whether Israel now aims to fight Iran to the last American soldier and the last American taxpayer dollar. He asks whether America First is truly among the priorities of the U.S. government today. The letter does not provide answers to these questions. The letter invites Americans to speak with those who have visited Iran and to observe accomplished Iranian immigrants who contribute to universities and technology firms in the West.
This correspondent notes, for purposes of administrative completeness, that earlier on April 1, 2026, the President of the United States published a post to Truth Social reporting that Iran’s new regime president had requested a ceasefire. The President described Iran’s new regime president as much less radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors. The President stated the United States would consider the ceasefire request when the Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. The open letter published by Pezeshkian does not reference the ceasefire request. The Truth Social post does not reference the open letter. Both documents were published on the same day.
The Hormuz Strait condition remains in effect.
Source Block
- Primary: PressTV — Pezeshkian open letter to American people, April 1, 2026: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/04/01/766191/pezeshkian-letter-American-people
- Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/04/01/766191/pezeshkian-letter-American-people
- Screenshot: screenshots/1775079448356_image.png
- Internal cross-references:
