Iran's leadership has downplayed the significance of Republican setbacks in the US midterm elections, insisting that the Democratic takeover of Congress is unlikely to alter Washington's policy toward the Islamic Republic.
"If there are still those who believe that America can be persuaded to abandon its hostility toward the Iranian nation through concessions or partisan changes in the US political system, they are gravely mistaken," Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement after the vote.
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Khamenei → downplay → vote
Khamenei also warned that Tehran would respond more forcefully to any future US military action.
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Tehran → warn → action
The elections took place after months of military confrontation between Tehran and Washington, which disrupted global energy markets and raised fears of a broader regional conflict.
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which → take → conflict
Tehran likely to stick to its course despite US political shift
Mohammad Sadegh Javadi Hesar, Iran-based journalist and member of the reformist party Etemad-e Melli, said the election outcome was unlikely to affect Iran's calculations.
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outcome → stick → calculations
"Iran will not change its position simply because Republicans have lost their majority," he told DW.
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he → change → majority
According to Javadi Hesar, decisions about ending the conflict will ultimately be made in Washington.
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decisions → accord → Washington
Tehran, in turn, is expected to continue insisting on its previous demands for peace, such as the end of all hostilities, including in Lebanon, and the lifting of US naval blockade.
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Tehran → expect → blockade
Others in Iran interpreted the results more positively.
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Others → interpret → results
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf argued that American voters had delivered their verdict on the Iranian conflict.
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voters → argue → conflict
"The Americans said no to war," Ghalibaf said on X, while acknowledging that rising cost of living also contributed to Donald Trump's party losing the election.
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party → say → election
Ghalibaf also mocked US Vice President JD Vance who had acknowledged that the Iran war was the reason the Republicans lost.
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Republicans → mock → Vance
Why not say this to your boss?" Ghalibaf wrote on X.
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Ghalibaf → say → boss
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran not only challenged the United States on the battlefield and in the Strait of Hormuz but had also dealt it a political setback in Washington.
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Iran → say → Washington
Several Iranian media outlets echoed that assessment.
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outlets → echo → assessment
The news website Etelaat Online sarcastically suggested that the long-discussed "regime change" had ultimately taken place not in Iran, but in the United States.
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change → suggest → States
Looking back to Jimmy Carter
Some commentators drew historical parallels to another period of US-Iran tension.
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commentators → look → tension
The state-affiliated Mehr News Agency compared Trump's political troubles to those of former US President Jimmy Carter, recalling the failed 1980 American military operation to rescue hostages held in Tehran.
At the time, the US deployed eight military helicopters to rendezvous with six transport planes in the Iranian desert before moving on Tehran to free the hostages.
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US → affiliate → hostages
However, the aircraft encountered a sand storm and a deadly crash between a helicopter and a C-130 transport plane, killing eight Americans.
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aircraft → encounter → Americans
The agency argued that the 1980 episode demonstrated the limits of US military power in resolving disputes with Iran.
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episode → argue → Iran
Carter went on to lose the presidential election to Ronald Reagan later that year.
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Carter → go → Reagan
Iran released the hostages in January 1981, just minutes after Reagan was sworn in for his first presidential term.
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Reagan → release → term
No winds of change between Iran and US
Hardline media, however, dismissed the election's broader significance.
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winds → dismiss → significance
Tasnim News Agency, which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, argued that there is little meaningful difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to Iran policy.
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it → argue → policy
According to the agency, both parties pursue similar goals toward the Islamic Republic despite differences in rhetoric.
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parties → accord → rhetoric
Using a Persian proverb, Tasnim summed up its view bluntly: "The yellow dog is the brother of the jackal," suggesting that neither side should be expected to act differently toward Iran.
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side → use → Iran
Veteran Iranian diplomat Hossein Alizadeh says the actual midterm fallout is difficult to predict, but notes US politics sends ripples out across the entire world.
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politics → say → world
Consequently, developments in that country are of significance to the entire world — from Mexico and Canada, through the European Union, to China, and, of course, the Middle East," says in an interview with DW.
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developments → say → DW
Alizadeh is an expert in international relations who served in the diplomatic corps of the Islamic Republic for 22 years , before resigning in 2010 in protest of the 2009 Iranian post-election crackdown.
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who → serve → crackdown
The Finland-based analyst considers another large-scale military escalation by the USA to be unlikely.
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escalation → base → USA
While the Democrats are also opponents of the Islamic Republic, "unlike the Trump administration, they opted for a diplomatic agreement with Tehran.
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they → opt → Tehran
The 2015 nuclear deal placed Iranian nuclear activities under the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," says Alizadeh.
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Alizadeh → place → Agency
He points out that the Democrats and the USA's allies were not in favor or attacking Iran.
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Democrats → point → Iran
"The negative repercussions of such a war have already become clear," he told DW.
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he → become → DW
This piece was originally published in German
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piece → publish → German
The Aporia
