Iran Braces for Trump's Next Move After Democrats Sweep Congress

OilPrice.com · RFE/RL staff · 2026-11-05 15:00 UTC

Iranian leaders expect continued U.S. pressure despite Democrats' sweeping midterm victory, raising questions about whether Tehran will harden its negotiating position or wait out Trump's presidency.

The landslide victory by Democrats in US midterm elections is expected to bring change to Congress and foreign policy in Washington. But inside Iran, many officials said they expect the country will remain in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump, even if the vote has left him weaker.

As the results poured in late on November 3, showing Democrats had taken control of both the House of Representatives and Senate from their Republican rivals, Trump admitted the war he launched on Iran on the last day of February had taken a toll on his party.

But Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement on November 4 -- the anniversary of when radical students cemented Iran's toppling of the US-backed Shah by storming the US Embassy and holding 52 Americans hostage there for 444 days -- that anyone expecting any fundamental change in US policy simply because one party had replaced another is “gravely mistaken.”

Read the full story at OilPrice.com · All coverage of this story