Top Iranian official injured in strike on Tehran – as it happened

15.30 EDT Iran's president says his country has no 'enmity' for American people In his letter to the American people, Iran ’s president Masoud Pezeshkian laid out the longstanding, historical grievances behind Tehran’s distrust of Washington, with a turning point being the 1953 coup d’état , which he described as “an illegal American intervention aimed at preventing the nationalisation of Iran’s own resources”. Relations before that “were not originally hostile, and early interactions between the Iranian and American people were not marred with hostility or tension”, he wrote. He said that distrust “deepened further” through US support for the Shah, backing of Saddam Hussein, sweeping “inhumane” sanctions and, most recently, “ unprovoked military aggression – twice, in the midst of negotiations, against Iran ”. The continuation of military aggression and recent bombings profoundly affect people’s lives, attitudes, and perspectives. He then stressed that there was a distinction between the US government and the people of the United States – with ordinary Americans, Europeans, and other countries not viewed as enemies , despite decades of hostility. The Iranian people harbor no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighbouring countries ; attacks on Iran’s infrastructure, targeting of our people, have consequences beyond the country’s border . What we do in response is based on the legitimate right of self-defense, not an act of aggression. Even in the face of repeated foreign interventions and pressures throughout their proud history, Iranians have consistently drawn a clear distinction between governments and the peoples they govern . This is a deeply rooted principle in Iranian culture and collective consciousness — not a temporary political stance.