Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has appealed directly to American voters ahead of the US midterm elections, urging them to reject President Donald Trump’s policies and arguing that Tehran
and Washington can coexist peacefully if US policy changes.
The appeal was made in a 25-page open letter addressed to the American people on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The letter called on Americans to oppose US support for Israel and foreign wars, while arguing that Iran’s confrontation with the United States could end through a change in Washington’s approach.
IRGC Appeals To US Voters Ahead Of Midterms
The Revolutionary Guards said Americans have the power to influence their government through their votes.
The letter sought to distinguish between the US government and the American people, while urging voters to reject the policies being pursued by the Trump administration.
IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said he did not expect the letter to change the behaviour of the US administration, coming about five weeks before the elections, but said it could reach American voters.
“The American people are not knowledgeable about many developments. We believe if they knew more, they would think differently and take other decisions,” Mohebbi told reporters, according to Reuters.
The letter also urged Americans to oppose Washington’s support for Israel and its involvement in foreign wars.
It argued that Iran and the US could live alongside each other peacefully if American policy towards Tehran changed.
Iran Says Nuclear Programme Is Peaceful
The IRGC letter accused Trump of concealing what it described as the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. Israel has viewed the programme as an existential threat.
Trump has cited preventing Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon among his reasons for waging war against the country.
In remarks at the UN General Assembly last week, Trump said he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if he chose.
Mohebbi rejected the US position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“The enemy (US) knows that Iran is not after nuclear weapons,” he said, according to Reuters.
The IRGC spokesperson also directly attacked Trump’s credibility, saying that US national security and the lives of American service members had been entrusted to a leader he described as an “inveterate liar” and “insanely avaricious”.
Iran Warns Over Strait Of Hormuz
Iran has maintained a blockade on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, while the US has been maintaining a counterblockade of Iranian ports in an effort to prevent Tehran from exporting oil.
Iranian officials have also threatened further attacks on infrastructure in the region if Tehran’s security is not guaranteed.
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said no infrastructure in the region would remain safe if Iran could not sell its oil or if its security was not guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Qatar has been relaying messages between Iran and the US as efforts continue to find common ground.
Iran has demanded a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade of its ports as conditions for ending its blockade, according to AFP.
