Iran hails US voters rejecting war while Khamenei warns hostility won’t end

What the report says

Iran’s top leadership responded sharply to the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections on Wednesday, with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei saying it was wrong to expect a change in Washington’s approach toward Tehran. His remarks, carried by Al Jazeera, came after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in a vote that dealt a setback to President Donald Trump.

Khamenei used a statement marking Iran’s annual anti-U.S. observance to argue that concessions would not end what he described as U.S. hostility. He also warned that any renewed American attack would lead to a broader response. The message followed months of heightened tension between the two countries and comments from Trump suggesting the war with Iran had affected Republican support because of its economic costs.

Other Iranian officials took a more triumphant tone. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said U.S. voters had rejected war, while advisers and judiciary officials claimed the election result showed Trump had been politically weakened. Some in Tehran, however, worried that framing the vote as an Iranian victory could prompt him to respond aggressively.

Al Jazeera also reported that Iranian figures linked the election result to U.S. policy on the wider region, including the war in Gaza. The article notes that Iran has warned it could retaliate beyond U.S. bases if Gulf states assist any attack launched from their territory, underscoring the regional stakes of the dispute.