Iranian leaders welcome US midterm results as Trump faces potential attacks
Tehran officials claim the Republican Party's election defeats represent a public rejection of the war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera.
Iranian authorities have welcomed the sweeping midterm election defeats for US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, describing them as a repudiation 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, warned on X that if the US government betrays public will, it will face a nightmare. Iranian judiciary head Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei also stated that Trump was defeated in both war and politics.
While the Democratic victories complicate the president's remaining years, analysts suggest this may make Iranian leadership more adamant about demands to end the war started by the US and Israel on February 28. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that the 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 and marches in cities including Bandar Abbas, Mashhad, and Qom to denounce US-led global arrogance. A statement attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei asserted that the Persian Gulf has invalidated the myth of American invincibility.
Despite the electoral results, Barbara Slavin, a fellow at the Stimson Center, told Al Jazeera she is concerned the US president may use his remaining time in office to attack Iran. She noted that Trump retains enormous powers as commander-in-chief before the new Congress is seated.
