Letter to Americans from Iran’s IRGC Explained

On September 29, 2026, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps published an open letter addressing the American public, particularly scholars, students, and journalists, five weeks before the U.S. midterm elections. Rania Kisar, a Master of Global Security at Arizona State University Alumna, examines the letter’s more than 300 factual assertions and its use of historical grievances, political messaging, and contested claims to shape American perceptions of Iran and U.S. foreign policy. The letter reinterprets “Death to America” as opposition to American political leadership, invokes events including the 1953 Iranian coup and the downing of Iran Air Flight 655, highlights veteran suicides, economic hardship, and political unrest, and encourages Americans to remove elected officials from power. Kisar places this messaging within Iran’s record of influence operations and examines it alongside the IRGC’s history of violence, support for armed groups, repression of Iranian protesters, alleged assassination plots, and suspected overseas operations. This letter is an excellent case student in examining how a state military organization addresses an adversary’s population, employs historical memory and domestic grievances, and seeks to influence political attitudes and behavior inside the information environment.