Automatic translation into English is shown. It is cached for future readers; the original remains authoritative.
Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian,
When you assumed the presidency, you spoke of dialogue, of the necessity to listen to the people, and of the need to seek compromises. But today, looking at the state of our shared home—our Iran—it brings deep pain to the heart. I am writing this letter not as a political opponent, but as someone who genuinely loves their homeland, its great culture, and its history, and who looks toward tomorrow with profound anxiety.
Every single day, the average Iranian begins with a struggle for survival. The nation's economy, trapped in the tight grip of long-standing sanctions and suffocated by internal structural flaws, is in a state of deep crisis.
What Every One of Us Witnesses
The Devaluation of Labor: Our rial has turned into paper, losing its value right before our eyes. The savings of ordinary people—teachers, engineers, workers—have vanished. Inflation devours wages faster than people can even bring them home.
Isolation from the World: We are a nation with immense intellectual potential, yet we find ourselves cut off from global technology, science, and the international financial system. The youth, despite receiving an excellent education, see no future here. The brain drain has become a national tragedy; the country is losing its greatest asset—its children.
The Social Divide: The distance between the authorities and society has widened to a dangerous degree. Internal pressure, rigid restrictions on personal freedoms, and a disregard for the demands of the modern generation do not breed stability. Instead, they foster a silent, destructive resentment.
External Pressure and the Global Context
We all understand that Iran lives under the weight of severe external pressure. The policies of the United States and its allies in the Middle East are often built on double standards, pursuing nothing but their own geopolitical interests. These sanctions do not hurt the elite; they hurt the critically ill by depriving them of medicine, and the impoverished by depriving them of food.
But is it fair to blame external enemies for everything? Constantly balancing on the brink of a major regional war and engaging in proxy conflicts drains the very resources that are critically needed at home—to modernize infrastructure, resolve severe water shortages, and support our fading domestic production.
A country cannot be strong on the global stage if it is hollowed out from within. True sovereignty relies not just on missiles, but on prosperous citizens, a stable economy, and the people's trust in their government.
A Call to Action
Iran is in desperate need of a courageous internal audit. We do not need cosmetic fixes; we need deep, meaningful reforms:
A real fight against corruption and cronyism, ensuring that state resources serve the nation rather than narrow interest groups.
Easing the ideological pressure on society. Respecting our own citizens and their right to live in the modern world without constant fear is the ultimate foundation of internal security.
A pragmatic foreign policy. Defending national interests must not mean self-isolation. We must pursue compromises to lift the burden of sanctions, step by step, for the sake of rescuing the economy.
Mr. President, Iran is not merely a headline in geopolitical briefings. It is made of millions of living human beings who are exhausted by the fear of war, tired of poverty, and who simply want to be proud of their country while living in prosperity and safety. It is within your power to begin this difficult but vital pivot toward the needs of your own people. Do not let this historic opportunity slip away.
P.S. A Personal Audit of the Leader It is one thing to speak eloquently from a podium, and quite another to meet the hard demands of citizens. To understand how effectively Masoud Pezeshkian is handling his duties at this critical turning point in history, I have risked rating him on a strict five-point scale (from 1 to 5) based on four key criteria:
Political Experience and Wisdom: 3 (The capacity to maneuver through crises and the scale of personality)
Connection with the People (Empathy): 4 (Understanding the real struggles of ordinary people "on the ground")
Decisiveness and Toughness: 2 (Readiness to make unpopular but vital decisions)
Actual Preparedness of the Country: 2 (The real economic and defensive state of the nation)
Final Verdict: 2.75 / On the Brink. The President holds a certain level of public trust and genuinely attempts to foster dialogue, but he is completely trapped within a rigid, conservative domestic system and paralyzed by severe external sanctions. At this moment, he possesses almost no real leverage to radically improve the daily lives of the people.
When you assumed the presidency, you spoke of dialogue, of the necessity to listen to the people, and of the need to seek compromises. But today, looking at the state of our shared home—our Iran—it brings deep pain to the heart. I am writing this letter not as a political opponent, but as someone who genuinely loves their homeland, its great culture, and its history, and who looks toward tomorrow with profound anxiety.
Every single day, the average Iranian begins with a struggle for survival. The nation's economy, trapped in the tight grip of long-standing sanctions and suffocated by internal structural flaws, is in a state of deep crisis.
What Every One of Us Witnesses
The Devaluation of Labor: Our rial has turned into paper, losing its value right before our eyes. The savings of ordinary people—teachers, engineers, workers—have vanished. Inflation devours wages faster than people can even bring them home.
Isolation from the World: We are a nation with immense intellectual potential, yet we find ourselves cut off from global technology, science, and the international financial system. The youth, despite receiving an excellent education, see no future here. The brain drain has become a national tragedy; the country is losing its greatest asset—its children.
The Social Divide: The distance between the authorities and society has widened to a dangerous degree. Internal pressure, rigid restrictions on personal freedoms, and a disregard for the demands of the modern generation do not breed stability. Instead, they foster a silent, destructive resentment.
External Pressure and the Global Context
We all understand that Iran lives under the weight of severe external pressure. The policies of the United States and its allies in the Middle East are often built on double standards, pursuing nothing but their own geopolitical interests. These sanctions do not hurt the elite; they hurt the critically ill by depriving them of medicine, and the impoverished by depriving them of food.
But is it fair to blame external enemies for everything? Constantly balancing on the brink of a major regional war and engaging in proxy conflicts drains the very resources that are critically needed at home—to modernize infrastructure, resolve severe water shortages, and support our fading domestic production.
A country cannot be strong on the global stage if it is hollowed out from within. True sovereignty relies not just on missiles, but on prosperous citizens, a stable economy, and the people's trust in their government.
A Call to Action
Iran is in desperate need of a courageous internal audit. We do not need cosmetic fixes; we need deep, meaningful reforms:
A real fight against corruption and cronyism, ensuring that state resources serve the nation rather than narrow interest groups.
Easing the ideological pressure on society. Respecting our own citizens and their right to live in the modern world without constant fear is the ultimate foundation of internal security.
A pragmatic foreign policy. Defending national interests must not mean self-isolation. We must pursue compromises to lift the burden of sanctions, step by step, for the sake of rescuing the economy.
Mr. President, Iran is not merely a headline in geopolitical briefings. It is made of millions of living human beings who are exhausted by the fear of war, tired of poverty, and who simply want to be proud of their country while living in prosperity and safety. It is within your power to begin this difficult but vital pivot toward the needs of your own people. Do not let this historic opportunity slip away.
P.S. A Personal Audit of the Leader It is one thing to speak eloquently from a podium, and quite another to meet the hard demands of citizens. To understand how effectively Masoud Pezeshkian is handling his duties at this critical turning point in history, I have risked rating him on a strict five-point scale (from 1 to 5) based on four key criteria:
Political Experience and Wisdom: 3 (The capacity to maneuver through crises and the scale of personality)
Connection with the People (Empathy): 4 (Understanding the real struggles of ordinary people "on the ground")
Decisiveness and Toughness: 2 (Readiness to make unpopular but vital decisions)
Actual Preparedness of the Country: 2 (The real economic and defensive state of the nation)
Final Verdict: 2.75 / On the Brink. The President holds a certain level of public trust and genuinely attempts to foster dialogue, but he is completely trapped within a rigid, conservative domestic system and paralyzed by severe external sanctions. At this moment, he possesses almost no real leverage to radically improve the daily lives of the people.
Addressee-language version: Persian
آقای مسعود پزشکیان،وقتی ریاستجمهوری را بهعهده گرفتید، از گفتوگو سخن گفتید، از ضرورت شنیدن مردم و از نیاز به جستجوی سازشها. اما امروز، با نگریستن به حال خانهٔ مشترکمان—ایرانمان—دردی عمیق در دل مینشاند. این نامه را نه بهعنوان یک مخالف سیاسی، بلکه بهعنوان کسی که وطنش را واقعاً دوست دارد، فرهنگ بزرگ و تاریخ آن را ارج مینهد و با دلهرهای عمیق به فردا مینگرد، مینویسم.
هر روزِ هر ایرانیِ متوسط با مبارزهای برای بقا آغاز میشود. اقتصاد کشور، در چنگال محکم تحریمهای دیرپا و خفهشده توسط آسیبهای ساختاری داخلی، در وضعیت بحرانی عمیقی است.
آنچه هر یک از ما شاهد آنیم
تنزل ارزش کار: ریال ما به کاغذی بدل شده که ارزشش را جلوی چشمهایمان از دست داده است. پساندازهای مردم معمولی—معلمان، مهندسان، کارگران—نابود شدهاند. تورم، دستمزدها را سریعتر از آنکه مردم بتوانند به خانه بیاورند، میبلعد.
انزوای از جهان: ما ملتی با پتانسیل فکری عظیم هستیم، اما خود را از فناوری جهانی، علم و نظام مالی بینالمللی جدا یافته مییابیم. جوانان، با وجود دریافت آموزش بسیار خوب، هیچ آیندهای اینجا نمیبینند. فرار مغزها به تراژدی ملی تبدیل شده است؛ کشور بزرگترین داراییاش—فرزندانش—را از دست میدهد.
شکاف اجتماعی: فاصله میان قدرتها و جامعه تا حد خطرناکی عمیق شده است. فشارهای داخلی، محدودیتهای سختگیرانه بر آزادیهای فردی و بیتوجهی به مطالبات نسل مدرن، ثبات نمیآفرینند. در عوض، کینهای خاموش و ویرانگر پدید میآورند.
فشار خارجی و زمینهٔ جهانی
همهٔ ما میدانیم که ایران زیر بار فشار خارجی شدید زندگی میکند. سیاستهای ایالات متحده و همپیمانانش در خاورمیانه غالباً بر پایهٔ معیارهای دوگانه استوار است و جز منافع ژئوپلیتیک خود چیز دیگری را دنبال نمیکنند. این تحریمها به نخبگان آسیب نمیزنند؛ به بیماران صعبالعلاج با محروم کردن از دارو و به فقرا با محروم کردن از غذا آسیب میرسانند.
اما آیا عادلانه است که همهٔ چیز را به دشمنان خارجی نسبت دهیم؟ قرار داشتن مداوم بر لبهٔ یک جنگ منطقهای بزرگ و درگیر شدن در منازعات نیابتی، منابعی را که بهشدت در داخل لازم است—برای نوسازی زیرساختها، حل بحران شدید آب و حمایت از تولید ملی رو به زوال—مصرف میکند.
کشوری نمیتواند در صحنهٔ جهانی قدرتمند باشد اگر از درون پوک شده باشد. حاکمیت واقعی تنها متکی به موشکها نیست، بلکه بر شهروندان مرفه، اقتصادی باثبات و اعتماد مردم به دولت استوار است.
فراخوانی به اقدام
ایران بهشدت به یک بازنگری شجاعانهٔ درونی نیاز دارد. ما به ترمیمهای سطحی نیاز نداریم؛ ما به اصلاحات عمیق و معنادار نیازمندیم:
یک مبارزهٔ واقعی با فساد و رفاقتسالاری، بهگونهای که منابع دولتی بهخدمت ملت درآیند نه گروههای ذینفع محدود.
کاهش فشار ایدئولوژیک بر جامعه. احترام به شهروندان خود و حق آنان برای زیستن در جهان مدرن بدون ترس مداوم، بنیاد نهایی امنیت داخلی است.
سیاست خارجی عملگرایانه. دفاع از منافع ملی نباید به معنای انزوای خودی باشد. باید برای لغو تدریجی بار تحریمها، گامبهگام، به دنبال سازشهایی باشیم تا اقتصاد نجات یابد.
آقای رئیسجمهور، ایران صرفاً تیتر گزارشهای ژئوپلیتیکی نیست. ایران از میلیونها انسان زنده تشکیل شده است که از ترس جنگ خستهاند، از فقر رنج میبرند و صرفاً میخواهند در رفاه و امنیت به میهن خود افتخار کنند. آغاز این چرخش دشوار ولی حیاتی بهسوی نیازهای مردمتان در دستان شماست. اجازه ندهید این فرصت تاریخی از دست برود.
پ.ن. یک بازنگری شخصی از رهبر
یک چیز این است که از منبر با فصاحت سخن بگویند و چیز دیگر این است که با خواستههای سخت شهروندان روبهرو شوند. برای فهمیدن اینکه مسعود پزشکیان در این نقطهٔ عطف تاریخی تا چه اندازه وظایف خود را بهخوبی انجام میدهد، خود را در معرض ارزیابی قرار دادم و او را بر اساس چهار معیار کلیدی روی یک مقیاس سخت پنجنمرهای (از 1 تا 5) نمرهگذاری کردم:
تجربه و حکمت سیاسی: 3 (ظرفیت مانور در بحرانها و وسعت شخصیت)
ارتباط با مردم (همدلی): 4 (درک مبارزات واقعی مردم عادی «در میدان»)
قاطعیت و سختگیری: 2 (آمادگی برای اتخاذ تصمیمات ناخوشایند اما حیاتی)
آمادگی واقعی کشور: 2 (وضعیت واقعی اقتصادی و دفاعی ملت)
حکم نهایی: 2.75 / در لبه. رئیسجمهور از سطحی از اعتماد عمومی برخوردار است و واقعاً تلاش میکند گفتوگو را تقویت کند، اما کاملاً درون یک نظام داخلی سخت و محافظهکار گرفتار است و از تحریمهای بیرونی شدید فلج شده است. در این لحظه، او تقریباً هیچ اهرم واقعی برای بهبود رادیکال زندگی روزمرهٔ مردم در اختیار ندارد.