In open letter, Pezeshkian says Iran has no enmity for Americans, alleges Israeli 'manipulations' behind war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday addressed an open letter to Americans, saying that that the Islamic Regime “harbors no enmity towards ordinary” citizens of the United States. 

Rather than a legitimate war against a dangerous regime, the "U.S.-Israeli aggression" was driven by Israeli machinations, Pezeshkian alleged, writing "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 also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime?” he further added. 

Pezeshkian is widely regarded as a comparatively powerless figure in the Iranian hierarchy, sidelined and marginalized by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

The letter comes hours before President Donald Trump is scheduled to give an operational update on the war; as i24NEWS has reported, the U.S. leader is expected to say that the war will last a further two to three weeks. Trump will also pledge that the Islamic Republic will never acquire a nuclear weapon. 

“Today, the world stands at crossroads,” the letter read. “The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come.”