In a joint editorial, four of Tehran’s top newspapers decried the US exit from the nuclear deal and asked American journalists to speak up against the imposition of “tyrannical sanctions” against Iran. Hoping the gain a sympathetic ear in the West, particularly the United States, the 1,500-word editorial published in English and Persian framed the imposition of sanctions as an issue of freedom. 

The editorial, “In Defense of Freedom,” led with the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, concerning “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It echoed Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, beginning with the line, “Just twelve scores [sic] and two years after Thomas Jefferson wrote this statement …”

The editorial stated that despite numerous verifications by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the continued adherence of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action by Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union, President Donald Trump left the nuclear deal and “trampled over the US constitution and international law.” In addition to the Declaration of Independence, the editorial also invoked UN Resolution 2625, the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation of Among States, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1970. The resolution forbids using economic measures coercively against other states.

The editorial dismissed claims by the US government and notably also by the Iranian government about the impact of sanctions, specifically US claims that the sanctions target only the government and Iranian claims that civilians will not be harmed, warning that the sanctions will impact the lives of millions of Iranians and inhibit “access to medicine, drugs and medical equipments.”