Iran has seized on the Republican Party’s setbacks in the 2026 midterm elections to criticize President Donald Trump’s military campaign.
Iran Says Americans Have Rejected Trump’s War
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took to X, arguing that American voters had sent Washington a message against war following the Democrats’ strong midterm performance.
“Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” Ghalibaf wrote.
“If the US govt betrays [its] public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he added.
Democrats Flip GOP Strongholds In Midterm Sweep
Ghalibaf’s remarks came as The Associated Press called the results for Democrats, confirming that the party had won control of Congress in a sweeping rebuke of Trump and the Republican Party, with victories extending into traditionally Republican strongholds.
Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats across battlegrounds and reliably Republican states, including Kansas, which had not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century, as well as Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina.
In the House, Democrats also flipped districts that had backed Trump by margins of up to 18 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) in Georgia, Amy Acton (D) in Ohio, Rob Sand (D) in Iowa and Gina Hinojosa (D) in Texas also won gubernatorial races, flipping offices previously held by Republicans.
Trump Says Iran War Hurt GOP, But Stands By Decision
Separately, Trump acknowledged that the Iran conflict contributed to Republican losses but maintained that he had no regrets about launching the military campaign earlier this year.
“Iran was a piece of it,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in a phone interview when asked whether the war affected the election results. “I did the right thing. I would have done it again,” he said.
The president argued that rising oil prices, rather than the conflict itself, posed the bigger political problem for Republicans, as higher gasoline and diesel costs frustrated American voters.
US Stock Futures Mixed As Oil Prices Rise Above $96
Dow futures rose 14 points, or 0.03%, to 51,909.00, while S&P 500 futures fell 21.75 points, or 0.29%, to 7,575.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 121.75 points, or 0.43%, to 28,184.00 as of 1:45 a.m. EST.
In commodities, WTI crude oil rose 0.35% to $96.43 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 0.51% to $104.13 per barrel.
The national average price of regular gasoline is $4.1493 per gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA). The average diesel price stands at $6.2875 per gallon, while E85 averages $3.2313 per gallon.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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