US Dismisses IRGC Open Letter to American Voters as a Desperate 'Smokescreen'

The US State Department on Wednesday dismissed an open letter from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps addressed to the American public as a "smokescreen" designed to conceal the consequences of military action against Tehran.

"The IRGC’s desperate effort to lie to the American people does not change the hard facts about the Iranian regime’s record of maliciousness, both in Iran and abroad," a State Department spokesman stated. He accused Iran of continuing to select “terror over prosperity,” noting that ordinary Iranians were suffering the consequences, and emphasized that US operations had severely damaged Iran’s defence industrial base, navy, and air force, leaving its missiles “shattered.”

On Tuesday, the IRGC released a 26-page open letter directed at the "honourable people" of the US, encouraging them to reject President Donald Trump’s policies ahead of the upcoming November midterm elections. The IRGC has expanded its power and influence since the US and Israel initiated a war against Iran on February 28. The letter alleged that Mr Trump was hiding the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme—which Israel views as an existential threat—alongside the effectiveness of Tehran's blockade of Gulf oil.

"This false letter, the Iranian regime's latest act of desperation, is nothing more than a smokescreen, and the world sees it for what it is," the US spokesman added. Earlier, IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi told reporters he did not anticipate the letter changing the US administration's actions with about five weeks remaining before the midterm elections, though he suggested American voters might still receive the message.

The correspondence also characterized the conflict as a severe failure for Washington, asserting that Iran had secured a "decisive victory." The letter stated, "We can live together in peaceful coexistence. Remove from power the evil, deceitful and violent politicians who are responsible for America’s current state. Entrust your affairs to the wise, not the wily."

In response, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme announced it is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information that disrupts the financial network supporting the IRGC's Aerospace Force, which Washington identifies as the facilitator of IRGC operations, weapons development, and procurement. The programme is seeking financial details regarding senior figures, including Brig Gen Abdollah Mehrabi, whom the US connects to a company manufacturing engines for Iran’s Shahed drones, such as those deployed against the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.