Trump says Iran war played a part in Republicans' loss of Congress

The Democratic Party took control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans in the US midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, and US President Donald Trump acknowledged that the Iran war had played a part in the defeat. CNN projected that Democrats had won both the House of Representatives and the Senate; at the time of this report, seven Senate seats had passed from Republicans to Democrats, and the results in Alaska and Mississippi were still unclear.

Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday evening US time, Trump said Iran was part of the reason for the defeat, and he told The Wall Street Journal that Iran was a piece of it. At the same time, he said he did not regret the decision to go to war, that he had done the right thing and would do it again. During the campaign, Democratic candidates had blamed the war, which began on 28 February 2026, for high petrol and consumer prices.

Reaction from Islamic Republic officials

Islamic Republic officials on Wednesday, 4 November, presented the election result as their own victory. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of parliament and the Islamic Republic's chief negotiator, wrote in English on X that Americans, whether out of conscience or because of the cost of living, had said "no" to war, and that he endorsed this message. He threatened that if the US government turned its back on the will of its people, it would face a "nightmare".

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of the judiciary, wrote that Trump had been defeated both in war and in politics. Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of parliament, told the chamber that the enemy's attempts to collapse Iran's economy had failed many times, and Alireza Zakani, mayor of Tehran, called the result a "definitive defeat" for America at the regime's 4 November rally. These claims come as the dollar has reached around 275,000 tomans on Iran's open market and the blockade of Iran's ports has restricted the Islamic Republic's oil exports.

Trump: no immediate plan to strike

Hours before polls closed, Trump told the Financial Times in a six-minute phone interview that the United States had no immediate plan to attack the Islamic Republic again, but was fully ready to act if necessary. He said indirect negotiations continued over the roughly 450 kilograms of enriched uranium that remain under the rubble of nuclear facilities, and that he was not happy with it staying underground. Last week Trump also told Israel's Channel 12 that he was in no hurry to decide on resuming the war.

With a majority in Congress, Democrats can hold hearings on the war and advance measures limiting the president's war powers, but they lack the votes to override a Trump veto. The new Congress begins work in January. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators are awaiting both sides' responses to a new plan to end the war and, according to Reuters, expect feedback within 36 hours.

Trump acknowledged the Iran war played a part in his party's defeat, but said he does not regret it.