Khamenei warns of wider war after Democrats win Congress, says US hostility won't change

Khamenei's message

Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message published on his official website on 4 November that anyone expecting a change in American policy after the midterms was making a serious mistake. The message was issued on the 47th anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, when anti-American demonstrations were held in the Iranian capital. He argued that hostility toward Iran would not ease through shifts between parties in Washington or through concessions from Tehran. He also said the goal of the United States was Iran's capitulation and warned against any concessions to Washington.

“If such aggressions were to happen again, the war would be much more widespread.”

A warning of a wider war

Khamenei said any new American attack on Iran would draw a response far stronger than anything so far. He cited Iranian strikes on US bases in the region and Tehran's control of the Strait of Hormuz as part of its campaign against American dominance. He put the contest in stark terms.

“The United States thinks the end of its hegemony is far away. We see it as near.”

He also warned that any sign of yielding to what he called the hegemonic enemy could lead to more bloodshed. Khamenei has not appeared in public since taking power in March.

Democrats take Congress

Democrats took control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the 3 November midterms, a defeat for Donald Trump's Republicans. Provisional counts cited by Notícias ao Minuto gave the party at least 54 Senate seats and 225 House seats, above the majorities needed in both chambers. Democrats also took at least seven seats from Republicans in the Senate, including in Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, according to the same report. Trump will face an opposition-controlled Congress for the last two years of his term. He told Fox News that the war in Iran was partly responsible for his party's heavy defeat, and his veto can still block bills passed by Congress.

Diplomacy under strain

The conflict began in late February, when Israeli and US strikes killed Ali Khamenei and a wider war spread across the Middle East. Mojtaba Khamenei took over in March, a few days after his father's death. On the night of 2 to 3 November the United States bombed an island in Iran, according to La Libre. Trump had said over the weekend that he was prepared to hit Iran hard, but on Tuesday he tried to play down speculation that bombing would resume. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as 'very intense', and Trump said on Truth Social that a deal with Iran 'could happen'. Qatar, which is mediating, said both sides remained committed to the negotiation process. China said on 4 November that it was actively working on diplomacy to avoid a return to hostilities.

Reaction in Tehran

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker and Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, wrote on X that the vote carried a message against war with Iran.

“Whether out of conscience or because of the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we approve of that message.”

Ghalibaf also urged Washington not to ignore what American voters had said. Iranian authorities are satisfied with the Republican defeat but remain on alert for new strikes that Trump might order.