Iran's Khamenei says US policy will not change after Democratic sweep

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement on November 4 that anyone expecting a fundamental change in US policy simply because one party had replaced another is "gravely mistaken." He warned against "even the slightest inclination toward submission" to the United States, adding that "the US sees the end of its hegemony as distant; we see it as near."

The statement followed the November 3 US midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate from their Republican rivals. Trump admitted that the war he launched on Iran on the last day of February had taken a toll on his party, according to the report.

Iranian and American negotiators have actively engaged in indirect talks in recent days, primarily mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, to end the military conflict. Trump has declined to rule out resuming strikes on Iran, saying the United States still has to "take care of" one or two more targets, including a suspected nuclear site.

Jalal Rashidikoochi, a reformist former Iranian lawmaker, said he saw little difference between Democrats and Republicans, though he described the election as a "historic and humiliating" rejection by American voters of those who had pushed for war against Iran. He urged newly elected members of the House and Senate to heed that message.

Some officials credited Iranians' "popular resistance," the "bravery of Iranian fighters," and Iran's "historical revenge" against those responsible for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of US and Israeli air strikes in the conflict.

Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL that senior Iranian officials see the results as a victory for the Islamic Republic and a vindication of its uncompromising approach. "In that context, I expect the results to lead to a further hardening, rather than a softening, of Iran's position," he said. He said that applies especially to Tehran's core demands: that Washington take the first step by lifting sanctions and the blockade, and that any agreement should not involve major nuclear concessions.

Damon Golriz, a lecturer at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Iran may conclude it is better off avoiding major concessions to Trump and holding out for a future US administration. He pointed to the negotiations under President Barack Obama that produced the 2015 nuclear deal, as well as diplomatic engagement under former President Joe Biden, as evidence that a different political environment in Washington could offer Tehran better prospects.