Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has made a direct appeal to Americans, saying the United States government under President Donald Trump “must be changed”.
In a lengthy open letter (PDF) released on Tuesday, the IRGC tells Americans to “wake up” and “wrest control back from corrupt politicians”.
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The message comes five weeks before the midterm elections in the US and one day after the US-Israel war against Iran hit its seven-month mark.
“Now is the time, as the American political system is at its weakest,” the IRGC said.
Addressed to “the honorable people of the United States of America”, the letter accuses the Trump administration of misleading Americans about the war, Iran’s nuclear programme and who controls the Strait of Hormuz.
It also declares Iran the victor in the war, arguing that the US has failed to meet any of its stated goals, including curtailing Iran’s nuclear programme.
“The United States and Israel expended thousands of bombs and missiles, striking government and residential buildings, dozens of less-advanced and lower-tier weapons-manufacturing facilities, and a number of decommissioned military installations,” the letter said.
“Yet, aside from damaging several buildings tied to Iran’s nuclear industry and a limited number of air-defense sites, they failed to achieve any of their declared objectives.”
The letter is careful to distinguish the US government from its people, and it seeks to draw parallels between the concerns of US voters and Iranians.
It argues that “the nations of Iran and America are both, each in their own way, victims” of the “corrupt politicians” in the White House. “We share the same pain,” the letter said.
The letter is not Iran’s first attempt to reach Americans directly. Since the war began on February 28, Iran-linked media and online networks have used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate Lego-themed videos, memes and other short-form content in English to push Tehran’s message about the war.
The letter also offers an explanation for the “Death to America” slogan sometimes used in Iranian politics, insisting it is aimed at the US political establishment, not the American people.
“‘Death to America’ is a prayer for the eradication of the diabolical ruling elite whose seat of power is the White House,” the letter said.
‘Big lies’
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi echoed the letter’s message, accusing Trump of being an “inveterate liar” and telling Americans “big lies” while in office.
He also argued that US citizens are largely unaware of the “harms” of the Trump administration’s campaign.
“I feel that the American people are unaware of this reality,” Mohebbi told reporters on Tuesday. “If they were aware of these realities, they would definitely think differently, and they would definitely put pressure on their administration.”
Al Jazeera reached out to the White House for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Trump has repeatedly cited the threat of nuclear weapons as one of the reasons for launching the war against Iran. But Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and has accused Trump of lying about its uranium enrichment programme, which it says is for civilian energy purposes.
“The enemy [US] knows that Iran is not after nuclear weapons,” Mohebbi said.
Mohebbi also pushed back against US assertions that Iran has lost much of its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global fuel and fertiliser trade. Since the start of the war, Iran has restricted traffic through the strait, and the US has responded with a blockade.
“The fact that the Americans might manage, at great expense, considerable trouble and high risk to sneak a small vessel through the Strait of Hormuz under cover of darkness … does not mean the Strait is open,” Mohebbi said.
However, oil exports through the strait have been recovering, averaging about 13.2 million barrels per day over the past week, about 77 percent of their pre-war level, according to data from Kpler, a trade analytics firm.
Trump has repeatedly argued that Iran is “losing badly”, and he recently dismissed an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as “unacceptable”.
Both US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of renewed efforts to end the war. Tehran said a day earlier that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the conflict.
But speaking to the United Nations General Assembly last week, Trump weighed whether to “annihilate” Iran.
“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?”
He speculated that a deal might arise “right after the election” on November 3. The midterm races will determine which political party controls the US Congress — and whether Trump will face legislative roadblocks in the final two years of his second term.
