Iranian authorities have interpreted this Wednesday’s victory by the Democratic Party in the midterm legislative elections in the United States as a “no to war,” although the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Jamenei, has ruled out that this outcome implies changes in Washington’s political line toward the country.
The Iranian chief negotiator and president of Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, has stated that the “midterms” elections, in which the Democrats have gained control of both chambers of Congress, show that American voters have said “no to war,” either “out of conscience or because of the cost of life.” “We support this message,” he said.
In this vein, he issued a direct warning to the White House: “If the Government of the United States betrays the will of its public to serve blackmailers and international financiers, it will learn that our ‘no’ comes with a nightmare,” he said on social media.
Later, Jamenei reiterated in a statement that “if there is still someone who has a small hope for a change in behavior, or changes occur in the political factions that govern the country, or believes that by making concessions to the United States they can make it give up its hostility toward the Iranian people, they are very mistaken.”
“The desire of the great malign one—referring to the United States—is the unconditional surrender of the Iranian nation, and the slightest tendency to surrender to a dominant enemy will mean wasting the great capital obtained through the blood of the martyrs and the sacrifice of the members of the nation,” the Supreme Leader argued.
He also reiterated that a stance of concessions “will only encourage the arrogant enemy to commit further excesses and new wars,” while defending that “the only way to reach the point of absolute deterrence is to continue with the ‘Iran is stronger than ever’ strategy and move forward toward progress.”
According to Jamenei, “social unity and cohesion are the main elements of success on this path, which must be guided by the discourse and action of each individual and of the officials of the nation,” before emphasizing that the United States “has always tried to impose its law and subjugate Iran.”
The ayatollah added that, in recent years, the United States "has abandoned all its false and deceptive disguises and openly seeks to disintegrate the country, make the nation kneel, collapse the system, and destroy the original and ancient civilization of Iran," according to a statement released by his office.
However, he has highlighted that the Iranian reaction to the offensive initiated in February by the United States and Israel "has debunked the myth of the invincibility of the United States" and "has demonstrated the weakness and cowardice of governments that depend on force, instead of on their own nation."
"While Iran's management of the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of American military bases in the region was a reaction to aggression (...), it is also considered a jihad against arrogance with a regional dimension," he said, before warning that the scenario "will reach much broader dimensions if the aggressions are repeated."
"A CLEAR MESSAGE" FROM THE POPULATION TO TRUMP
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, also launched an attack on the former U.S. president and assured that, "driven by greed and arrogance, and acting in the service of a deceptive regime -- with reference to Israel --, he dragged his country into an illegal and atrocious war against Iran."
"Their calculations failed, their assumptions collapsed, and their strategic miscalculations were painfully exposed; all of this because they did not understand, in essence, Iran and, more importantly, the resilience, the determination, and the national pride of the Iranian nation," he added.
"The American people have now sent them a clear message," Baqaei said, who insisted that if Trump "continues to ignore reality, spurning the lessons of history and persisting on this dangerous course," he will see how "the consequences of this serious miscalculation will go far beyond what they have already witnessed."
"So repeat these words until their meaning is impossible to ignore. Listen to them until you finally understand the reality they contain: Attacking Iran does not lead to victory; it only results in defeat," the spokesperson said.
On social media, Baqaei also emphasized that "Iran is not a nation that can be understood through arrogance, intimidated through threats, or brought to its knees through aggression."
On the other hand, Mohamad Mojber, an adviser to Jamenei, has stated that in the ballot boxes "the criminal Trump made every kind of effort possible for his party to win, but he received a slap from his own people." "The true winner in this battle was Iran, which shifted the cost of the war inside the United States," he has claimed.
"The continuation of Trump's failed policy will dissipate the remnants of the dignity of the United States, thanks to the blood of the martyrs and the hands of the people of Iran and the resistance front," he emphasized as well, a member of the System's Expediency Discernment Assembly in a message circulated on social media.
Along the same lines, the head of the judicial apparatus, Golamhosein Mohseni Ejei, has assured in a brief message that "Trump has failed both in war and in politics" and added that Iran "will inflict more defeats on him." The 'midterms' have represented a serious setback for the Trump-linked Republican Party, since the Democrats have lived through one of their most favorable nights in recent history and have carried out the most optimistic forecasts to take control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress.