Iranian leaders welcome US midterm results as repudiation of war on Iran
Iranian officials claim Republican Party defeats reflect American opposition to conflict, though analysts warn of potential further US strikes.
Iranian authorities have welcomed the sweeping midterm election defeats for US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, describing them as a rejection of the war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera. Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Americans said no to war due to conscience or the cost of living.
Ghalibaf, who led a delegation in talks with Washington that resulted in a short-lived memorandum of understanding in June, stated on X that if the US government betrays public will to serve international paymasters, it will face a nightmare. Judiciary head Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei also said Trump was defeated in both war and politics.
While Trump has discussed the possibility of attacking Iran for weeks, he said he has not made a decision. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that the electoral defeat increases pressure to end the war but does not rule out further strikes.
Hamidreza Azizi, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that Iranian decision-makers may become more uncompromising on core demands, including seven conditions for the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He noted the likelihood of Iran making concessions on the nuclear issue could become lower.
In Tehran, authorities organised demonstrations to denounce US-led global arrogance on the anniversary of the 1979 US embassy seizure. A statement attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the stage of the Persian Gulf has invalidated the myth of American invincibility.
Barbara Slavin, a fellow at the Stimson Center, told Al Jazeera she is concerned the US president might use his lame duck period to attack Iran again. She noted that Trump retains enormous powers as commander-in-chief before the new Congress is seated.