Others aren’t so optimistic, urging caution.

by VDC Staff

Iranian officials responded to Democrats’ gains in the November 3, 2026, U.S. midterm elections with a mix of satisfaction and caution. Many framed the results—which gave Democrats control of both the House and Senate—as a clear message from American voters rejecting the ongoing war with Iran. That conflict, launched jointly by the United States and Israel in late February 2026, had driven up fuel prices and living costs in the U.S., becoming a major campaign issue.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has also served as Iran’s chief negotiator with Washington, offered one of the most direct reactions. Writing on X, he said, “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.” He added a warning: if the U.S. government ignored that public will to serve what he called international paymasters and blackmailers, “it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare.”

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei struck a more restrained tone in a written statement released the same day. He said anyone still hoping that shifts between American political parties or concessions to the United States would end Washington’s hostility toward Iran was “seriously mistaken.” Khamenei argued that U.S. policy would not fundamentally change regardless of which party held power, and he warned that any renewed military aggression would meet a broader Iranian response. He also claimed the process of American decline had accelerated.

Other officials were more openly celebratory. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei declared that Trump had been “defeated both militarily and politically” and promised Iran would “inflict further defeats on him.” Adviser Mohammad Mokhber said Trump had been “slapped in the face by his own people” and that Iran was the true winner because it had shifted the costs of the war onto the United States. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani similarly claimed the election results reflected the steadfastness of the Iranian people and marked a defeat for both the United States and Israel.

While Iranian leaders welcomed the Democratic victories as validation of their view that the war had backfired politically in America, several also noted continued vigilance. Senior sources indicated Tehran remained on high alert out of concern that President Trump might attempt further military action to offset the electoral setback. The statements overall portrayed the midterms as a domestic American rejection of the conflict rather than a signal of imminent policy change from Washington.