‘We’ve been preparing for the worst all year’: uncertainty grips Iran after Trump midterms defeat

The Guardian · Deepa Parent · 2026-11-06 12:00 UTC

While some fear another full-scale war, others are less sure – but both agree repression at home will continue

Just hours after the US midterm election results delivered a crushing defeat for the Republican party, pro-regime crowds gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab Square to set fire to a giant banner depicting Donald Trump, his vice-president, JD Vance, the US envoy Steve Witkoff and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iranian officials have since issued defiant statements celebrating the Republican losses, portraying the results as a rejection of Trump’s war against Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, was killed during strikes in February, said: “The process of the US’s collapse has accelerated.”

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