Iranian officials welcomed a major setback for President Donald Trump after Democrats won control of Congress in Tuesday’s election. U.S. voters were concerned about the war with Iran and rising fuel prices, leaving world leaders watching whether Washington will change course and move to end the conflict.
Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, wrote Wednesday on X that “Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.” He also warned that if the U.S. government ignores the vote for change, “it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare.” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said he did not expect the United States to change its approach toward the Islamic Republic.
The broader region remains tense as talks continue to prevent renewed fighting. Thousands marched in Tehran on Wednesday at a government-organized demonstration marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy. Pro-government demonstrators burned American and Israeli flags and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed, without providing evidence, that they targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and several sites in southern Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group fired a ballistic missile at the airport, a drone at a radar installation, and another ballistic missile at a command and control center in Jazan province. The claims were not independently verified, and Saudi Arabia’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Saudi civil defense issued alerts in Riyadh, Jazan and Najran.
In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in Qabrikha killed one person and wounded another. The Israeli military said it struck two suspects who were observing Israeli soldiers. The strike was the first such attack in nearly a month, after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late June ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.
