Trump says Iran war affected midterm loss as Democrats win Congress
President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the Iran war, and the fuel prices it caused, affected the Republican midterm defeat. Democrats won both the House and the Senate on Tuesday.
- Trump said the war affected the result but he would make the same decision again.
- Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress.
- Vice President JD Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost.
- Iran's leaders said they do not expect US policy to change.
US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the war with Iran played a part in the Republican Party's defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Trump said Vice President JD Vance's assessment was largely true. In remarks quoted by DW Urdu, he said the war had led to a short-term rise in petrol prices. France 24 said voters were frustrated by surging gas prices during the conflict, which is more than eight months old.
Trump defended the decision to go to war. He said he would do the same again if he had to, and told The Wall Street Journal he has no regrets. He said the war was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He also rejected removing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who oversees the war.
Vance, seen as a likely 2028 presidential candidate, said: "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night." Al Jazeera reported that he questioned whether the war was worth the political cost, and cited an unnamed pollster who said ending the war was among top answers from Trump 2024 voters planning to vote Democratic.
Senator Ted Cruz said the war "should have been brief, decisive, and over" and that it dragged on too long. Al Jazeera also reported that the US attack on Iran triggered a global fuel crisis with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cost US taxpayers an estimated $47bn so far.
Democrats are preparing to use Congress to limit the war. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said "this war must end", and Congressman Ro Khanna proposed a continuing resolution that would bar financing of US combat activities in Iran. Trump said he is ready to cooperate with the opposition but warned Democrats against impeachment proceedings, saying there is no reason for them.
In Iran, chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said American voters had voted against the war and warned of Iranian retaliation if Washington ignores its people. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not expect a change in US policy and warned that renewed war would have much wider consequences.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 4 November that Democrats had won both houses of Congress, according to an Associated Press tally cited by Al Jazeera. On 5 November it reported that Iran's supreme leader said partisan change in the US would not end hostility, and that Democrats planned to focus on living costs and tariffs and to investigate Trump.
Why it matters
The Iran conflict affects Gulf security and energy prices that matter to Pakistan. khabr.pk recorded petrol at Rs362 per litre and high-speed diesel at Rs387.81 per litre on 4 November. The reports link the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to a global fuel crisis, so US moves to end or continue the war bear on the fuel costs Pakistani households and businesses face.
