I read Masoud Pezeshkian’s open letter, and the following caught my eye:
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. Do these realities align with the distortions you are being told about Iran and its people?
According to this logic, the immigrants from the USSR, who were all accomplished and educated, are evidence that the Soviet regime was great. If your best people are desperate to run away from you, then you must be great? That’s a weird logic.
By the way, when I was an undergraduate student in Montreal, one of my closest friends was Iranian. Her family hated the regime because the regime made it impossible for them to live in their own country.
The rest of the letter reads like a Russian propagandist wrote it. Which he probably did. All of these “fighting to the last American” verbal tics are recognizable and boring.
Let’s see what Trump says.
Clarissa's Blog 
“Pezeshkian’s open letter”
I noticed this,
“The Iranian people harbour no enmity towards other nations, including the people of America, Europe, or neighboring countries”
and this
“Iranians have consistently drawn a clear distinction between governments and the peoples they govern”
Which wound like soviet boilerplate. For a few years Cuba broadcast English language Voice of moscow to Florida and listening to it, was…. educational, not always in the way intended. Oddly, they never seemed to have made the connection between the need to make such a distinction and how the USSR was run…
LikeLike
“soviet boilerplate”
The US also says, of every country they bomb or sanction, we have no problem with the people of Cuba / Iraq / North Korea / ad infinitum. It’s always the government or the regime.
LikeLike
“US also says, of every country they bomb or sanction, we have no problem with the people of “
I remember a subtle difference in framing. It’s not that the US doesn’t have any problem with the people and more, the US support the people in their fight against tyranny (which is awkward when the people in question aren’t wanting to fight against tyranny….).
LikeLike
This is what got the US on trouble with Iran. The people there love their regime as I’ve been saying from the start. The ones who don’t all left.
LikeLike
It’s totally a Russian who wrote this screed for Pezeshkian.
LikeLike
Iran has no need of Russian interlocutors when addressing the West. They have plenty of people who know the West very well.
LikeLike
“Iran has no need of Russian interlocutors when addressing the West”
russia is the senior partner in the alliance. No way would it let Iranians address the west directly.
LikeLike
Exactly.
LikeLike
Then why does Pezeshkian repeat the exact wording of Russian propaganda slogans?
LikeLike
Ive had a number of Iranian clients for decades and they absolutely despise the Theocracy. They loved Trump with a fervor that surprised me when he assassinated Soleimani. They are intelligent, hardworking and a very good looking people. They also have a sense of humor and confidence because I have often called them arabs and other pejoratives just to prod them, they laugh and never take the bait.
Walnut
LikeLiked by 1 person
Precisely. Anybody who met Iranian immigrants know that they detest the regime. Why Pezeshkian expects them to defend the ayatollahs to Americans is incomprehensible.
In contrast, Russians who left Russia luuuurve Putin. This is why I think the letter was written by a Russian who hasn’t seen many Iranians.
LikeLike