'Trump’s war has failed': Iran appeals to US public to protest conflict

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has appealed directly to the American public to protest Donald Trump’s war, claiming that the US strategy against Tehran has failed and calling on Washington to admit defeat and withdraw from the region.

IRGC spokesman Gen Hossein Mohebbi made the appeal on Tuesday, saying Americans should question their government’s justification for the conflict. He accused Washington of using Iran’s nuclear programme as a pretext for pursuing its wider interests in the region.

“The only way for the war to end is for Washington to admit defeat and leave the region,” Mohebbi said, according to reports. He added: “This is how the war will end.”

The appeal comes as Tehran and Washington continue indirect contacts over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions involving Qatari and Pakistani mediators had taken on a “more serious form” following Tehran’s latest proposal for reopening the strategic waterway.

Araghchi said Qatar was preparing to convey new ideas to the US on how Iran’s conditions for reopening the strait could be met. Tehran is awaiting Washington’s response to the proposal, while the US has said any broader agreement would also have to address Iran’s nuclear programme.

Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal as unacceptable and has continued to say that the US will prevail in the conflict. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remains under their control and that reopening it is linked to the conditions Tehran has presented to Washington.

The conflict is also putting further pressure on Iran’s economy. The Iranian rial fell past 2.5 million to the US dollar on the free market on Tuesday, reaching another record low amid sanctions and the continuing war.

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