Iran's President Says Country Has 'No Enmity' For Americans In Letter Posted Before Trump Speech

TOPLINE

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian released the text of a letter to the American people Wednesday, insisting Iran harbors “no enmity” to the U.S. or other nations and insisting his country’s actions have been “a measured response grounded in legitimate self-defense,” ahead of a high-profile White House address from President Donald Trump following mixed messages on the future of the conflict.

KEY FACTS

The Iranian president’s letter recapped the U.S. and Iran’s long fraught history, recounting the U.S.-backed coup in 1953 and support for the brutal Iranian monarchy, as well as criticizing the U.S. military for operating bases in other Middle Eastern countries “around Iran.”

The letter came out hours after Trump insisted Iran asked for a ceasefire—a charge Iranian officials later denied.

Pezeshkian did not mention a prospective ceasefire, instead stating that further fighting would be “more costly and futile than ever before.”

CONTRA

“Iran wants to have nuclear weapons, of that there is zero doubt,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Wednesday, preempting Pezeshkian’s letter. Rubio also insisted Iran was trying to build a “conventional shield” to protect its nuclear program—“in essence, have so many missiles, have so many drones, that no one could attack them.” The secretary said the war was “our last, best chance” to destroy Iran’s missiles and drones. Trump made a similar justification when he first addressed the nation at the onset of the war. In the speech, the president said Iran “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can't take it anymore.” Trump has recently denied the main purpose of the conflict was about regime change, despite insisting it has happened after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in initial strikes.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Exactly which of the American people’s interests are being truly served by this war? Was there any objective threat from Iran to justify such behavior? Does the massacre of innocent children, the destruction of cancer treatment pharmaceutical facilities, or boasting about bombing a country ‘back to the stone age’ serve any purpose other than further damaging the United States’ global standing?” Pezeshkian asked in the letter. The Iranian president also warned that targeting his country’s “energy and industrial facilities” would constitute a war crime, and could “increase human and economic costs.” Trump has threatened to target Iranian infrastructure and desalination plants, but the Iranian military has also hit natural gas refineries and infrastructure in Gulf states over the course of the war. Iran has also repeatedly fired upon ships in the Strait of Hormuz, halting maritime traffic and heavily impacting oil prices. Pezeshkian did not mention the vital waterway at all in his letter.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Trump will address the nation in a primetime speech scheduled for 9 p.m. on Wednesday night. Politico reported the speech will likely insist the war is winding down, and call on other nations to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump insisted the U.S. would only consider a ceasefire if the strait was “open, free, and clear.”