TEHRAN – U.S. voters on Tuesday handed the Democratic Party control over Congress in a biting rebuke to President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Polls suggest that rising anger about the cost-of-living crisis partly set off by the president’s decision to launch war against Iran jointly in cooperation with Israel played a crucial part in the Democrats’ historic victory.
Independent analysts view Democrats’ resounding victory as a scathing rebuke to Trump’s unpopular war on Iran.
The war against Iran caused a sharp increase in fuel prices, which subsequently contributed to higher prices for other commodities.
The war on Iran was unprovoked, unlawful, unwarranted, and without any convincing justification.
Voters have shown they are weary of the conflict, which many blame for painfully higher fuel prices. Some Persian Gulf Arab governments now believe Trump has more reason than ever to seek a peace deal and that another full-scale assault on Iran is less likely after the midterms, two sources familiar with Persian Gulf government thinking told Reuters.
The Iran war has choked supplies of crude oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf, driving up the cost of crude oil and prices at fuel pumps around the world.
The energy market wagered on Wednesday that the elections could breathe more life into U.S.-Iran peace talks. Oil dropped for a third day, but tight stock levels prevented a larger selloff, analysts said.
“The market increasingly appears to be betting that President Trump wants to put the Middle East war behind him,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
The international media extensively covered the historic victory of Democrats.
Under the title “what we need to know,” Reuters said tens of millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to Trump in midterm elections; Democrats won a majority in the House after flipping more than two dozen Republican-held seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina; they also flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats, giving the party a 54-seat majority, with races in Alaska and Mississipi still undecided; the blue wave reflected voters’ deep frustration with Trump’s handling of the economy and his decision to launch a war against Iran, which sent gasoline prices sharply higher.
“Blue wave heading into tsunami territory”
Many analysts had predicted a “blue wave” would sweep the elections, but that is now “heading into tsunami territory,” France 24 said.
Democrats capitalized on Trump’s historic unpopularity to win significant power to check his final two years in office.
After his party faced devastating losses, House Speaker Mike Johnson told staff on Wednesday morning he’s not running for House Republican leader, sources told CNN.
Trump admits role of Iran war on his party’s humiliating defeat
Trump acknowledged that the war on Iran played a role in his party’s humiliating defeat.
“I think a part of it was Iran,” Trump told Fox News in an interview in which he also praised the Democrats for their campaign.
He affirmed he’ll work with the Democratic-controlled Congress and doesn’t “want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” even though he has previously said he would become “Mr. Veto.”
France 24’s International Affairs Editor Philip Turle and Geopolitical analyst Hind Ziane said public disillusionment with the Iran war, mounting economic pressures and dissatisfaction with Trump’s leadership has reshaped the American political landscape.
100-day agenda for “dramatic change”
Democrats promised a 100-day agenda starting with efforts to lower the costs of gas, groceries and other goods, as well as bills to reverse cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid healthcare programs.
They’re also ready to launch a robust oversight agenda to “hold the crooks accountable”, said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who would make history as the first Black speaker of the House if his colleagues elect him to the job when the new Congress begins on January 3, 2027.
“We hear you,” said Jeffries. “We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve.”
Democrats are also expected to investigate Trump’s construction projects; allegations of improper enrichment by Trump and his family members; the war on Iran; immigration enforcement; the effect of DOGE-prompted cutbacks in 2025 on the federal civil service; artificial intelligence; and affordability.
Historic path to Senate victory
Democrats charted a historic path to Senate victory through some of the most conservative states in the nation.
Kansas sent a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1932; James Talarico becomes first Democrat to win statewide in Texas since 1994; Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeats Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries poised to make history as the first Black speaker of the House.
Trump claimed rival Democrats did “good job”’ in the midterms.
With the exception of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his ideological allies, and Trump’s sycophants in some parts of the world, leaders elsewhere are welcoming the Democrats’ resounding victory in the elections.
Democrats’ victory delighted foreign countries, including Washington’s European allies.
UK PM: Prices could not be reduced until US war on Iran “is resolved”
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the elections represented an opportunity for the world to “unite” around resolving cost-of-living issues.
“President Trump has accepted the results, and I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living,” Burnham told reporters. Burnham added that prices could not be reduced until the US war in Iran “is resolved”.
France says election results should not distract Europe from safeguarding interests
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the Republican Party’s defeat have shown American democracy is alive but it should not distract Europe from safeguarding its interests.
“We would be making a serious mistake if this result were to distract us, even for a moment, from the vital and urgent need – to guarantee our national independence – to build a stronger, more prosperous and more democratic Europe,” Barrot told the French parliament.
Germany hopes for progress in ending conflicts in Mideast after election
Germany’s foreign minister expressed hope that the “very clear” Democrat victory in the midterm election might bring new initiatives to end conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“With their majority in both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party will likely seek to shift the political course in the United States,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.
Through close cooperation between the United States and Europe, “there may be a new opportunity to launch a fresh initiative” to resolve conflicts, he said.
Spanish PM says voters reject hate and elite privilege
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the election results, saying voters rejected hate, machismo, climate denialism and privileges for the elite.
In a post on X, he predicted Spain would follow the same political course: “It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the U.S. And it will happen soon in Spain.”
Norway: “Powerful political signal”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told the Reuters news agency the election results were a “powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also said, “Democracy won in America.”
Czech PM calls for ending conflict in Hormuz Strait
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said he hoped Trump would now focus on ending the war in Ukraine and resolving the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
South Africa: ‘The people of America have spoken’
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters the midterms results will “introduce a new era in world relations”.
“We have seen that the Democrats have taken control of the Senate and of the House, and the people of America have spoken.”
Israeli leaders in panic mode over fallout from US elections
What are the potential consequences for Israel and Netanyahu, as Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. will halt $3.8 billion in aid to the country?
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warned after the election results that Netanyahu’s continued leadership would endanger Israel’s security and deepen its international isolation.
“Israel cannot afford for him (Netanyahu), to remain prime minister. It endangers security, it endangers democracy, it will crush us in the world,” Lapid wrote on X.
“The American election results in the morning have one unexpected outcome: they eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu,” he added.
Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, also sounded the alarm, warning that Netanyahu’s continued rule could push an already internationally isolated Israel towards “international sanctions, international isolation and a collision with the United States”.
Jerusalem Post analyst Amichai Stein warned that the results could bring “harsher criticism of Israel, and less willingness to defend the traditional relationship between the two countries.”
His analysis warned that the success of candidates critical of Israel could influence the Democratic Party’s direction ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
The Jerusalem Post also warned: “The defeat comes amid broader shifts within the Democratic Party regarding Israel, the war with Iran, and the strategic relationship between Jerusalem and Washington.”
“One of the clearest takeaways from the election campaign is the political price the war with Iran has exacted on the Republican Party”, the analysis said, referring to the war Israel pushed the US into on 28 February.
“The expansion of the camp critical of Israel, and its growing access to positions of influence, represents a shift that Israel cannot afford to ignore,” it added.
Israel’s Channel 14 framed the Republican defeat as a direct setback for Israel, declaring in its headline: “A severe blow to Trump and Israel: Democrats won the midterm elections.”
A Haaretz analysis said Abdul El-Sayed’s victory over pro-Israel candidate Mike Rogers demonstrated “that even strident opposition to Israel is no barrier to winning competitive federal races.”
“El-Sayed won despite AIPAC spending more than $30 million to defeat him in the Democratic primary and another reported $9 million on behalf of Rogers in the general election,” it added.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
