Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued an open letter to the American people urging voters to reject President Donald Trump’s policies in the midterm elections. IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi presented the appeal as an effort to explain Tehran’s position and establish communication with U.S. citizens, rather than as a short-term political message.

The letter, described by English Al-Asia as 25 pages, addressed Americans including voters and called on them to oppose U.S. support for Israel and foreign wars. It said the two countries could coexist peacefully if Washington changed its policy. Mohebbi said the IRGC did not necessarily expect the letter to change the administration’s conduct, but believed U.S. voters might consider its arguments.

Dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme

Mohebbi repeated Tehran’s position that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons. He said the United States knew that Iran was not pursuing such weapons and argued that Washington’s campaign against Tehran was instead directed at Iran’s resources and political system. Those assertions were statements by the IRGC and were not independently verified in the supplied reports.

He also accused Trump of being untrustworthy and said the United States had failed in its war against Iran. Mohebbi called for the United States to leave the Middle East and urged Americans to question why Washington designates the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. The comments included allegations about U.S. military conduct that were not independently substantiated in the reports.

Military spending and new weapons

Mohebbi questioned the need for what he said were 800 U.S. military bases around the world. He said Iran’s annual military budget was equivalent to 1 percent of the U.S. military budget and argued that Washington should devote more resources to poorer countries.

He said Iran was continually designing weapons, improving existing equipment and mass-producing defence systems using available technologies. “Iran will deploy new weapons if the war takes a different form,” he said. Mohebbi also claimed that many U.S. bases in the region had been rendered unusable, an assertion not independently confirmed in the supplied sources.

The Strait of Hormuz

Mohebbi rejected U.S. assertions that Iran had lost most of its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. He said the passage of individual vessels at high cost and risk did not mean the strait was open. English Al-Asia, citing Kpler data, reported that September oil exports through the strait were expected to approach 10 million barrels per day, about half the pre-war level. The report did not independently establish the IRGC’s wider claims about control of the waterway.