Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday published an open letter to the American people in which he asked them to question whether the American government had their interests at heart and denounced the ongoing war against his country.

Pezeshkian argued that Iran maintained a strong military to defend itself and said that "portraying Iran as a threat is neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts."

He went on point to a U.S.-backed coup in 1953 as the starting point for tense relations and questioned American motives for entering the conflict.

"Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime?" he asked. Pezeshkian went on to strike a defiant tone, saying that sanctions and repeated military actions "have failed to weaken Iran."

"I invite you to look beyond the machinery of misinformation-an integral part of this aggression-and instead speak with those who have visited Iran," he added. 

"Observe the many accomplished Iranian immigrants-educated in Iran-who now teach and conduct research at the world's most prestigious universities, or contribute to the most advanced technology firms in the West," he said. "Do these realities align with the distortions you are being told about Iran and its people?"

Read the full text of Pezeshkian's letter here.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.