Iran criticises US VP Vance for blaming Iran war on midterm loss
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf hit out at JD Vance after the US vice president linked the Iran war to Republican defeats.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the war with Iran was the reason the Republican Party lost the midterm elections. According to reports from Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express and WION, Vance stated that many voters who supported the Trump-Vance ticket in the 2024 presidential election switched their support to Democrats in protest of administration policies.
Vance identified four major issues that influenced voters: ending the war with Iran, focusing on the rising cost of living and inflation, returning to the 'America First' agenda, and changing the US relationship with Israel. He noted that Republicans lost control of the Senate for the next six years and questioned if the bombardment was worth the political cost.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded to Vance on X, describing the administration as having 'losing gambler energy'. Ghalibaf suggested the US is 'prepping the next war phase' while America faces an 'Israel-first cliff'. He also stated that Americans said 'NO TO WAR' in the election results.
President Donald Trump defended the military action against Iran at the White House, though he acknowledged the war was a factor in the election setback. Trump maintained that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons was more important than the political cost. He also agreed that rising fuel prices had affected voters in the short term.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that US hostility towards Iran would continue regardless of which party holds power in Washington. He stated that if aggressions are repeated, the scope of the war will become much wider.