Iranian leaders welcome US midterms, but Trump may still attack
Iranian authorities are celebrating Democratic victories in the US midterm elections as a repudiation of President Trump's war on Iran, while warning that Trump may still attack the country despite public opposition.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities are painting the sweeping midterm election defeats for United States President Donald Trump's Republican Party as a repudiation by the American public of the war on Iran. "Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message," said Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation in talks with Washington that led to the signing of a short-lived memorandum of understanding in June.
Iran's defiant stance
"If the US [government] betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare," read a post on Ghalibaf's X account. Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of the Iranian judiciary, declared: "Trump was defeated in both war and politics" and promised that the Islamic republic will impose more defeats.
Trump was defeated in both war and politics
Analysis and implications
Analysts said the sweeping victories for Democrats, which complicate the president's remaining years in office, would only serve to make the leadership of Iran more adamant about their demands for ending the war started by the US and Israel on February 28. Trump has been talking about the possibility of attacking Iran for weeks, but says he hasn't made a decision yet, as a US naval blockade, sanctions and trade disruptions are also heavily pressuring the country.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, said the electoral defeat of Trump's Republican Party will increase pressure to end the Iran war, but does not rule out further strikes. "He needs a diplomatic victory or at worst an off-ramp, yet in the face of defeat he may be reluctant to appear weak," she told Al Jazeera.
He needs a diplomatic victory or at worst an off-ramp, yet in the face of defeat he may be reluctant to appear weak
Anniversary celebrations
Wednesday marked the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran by Iranian students, triggering a hostage crisis that set the tone for relations in the decades since. In Tehran, authorities organized demonstrations and speeches around the embassy building and other downtown areas to denounce US-led "global arrogance".
Now, the stage of the Persian Gulf, especially the Strait of Hormuz, has invalidated the myth of American invincibility
A statement attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was released to mark the day. "Now, the stage of the Persian Gulf, especially the Strait of Hormuz, has invalidated the myth of American invincibility," read the statement. In Tehran's Enghelab Square, a giant billboard depicting Trump behind prison bars was unveiled with the message: "We will kill Trump."
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