Iran reacts to US midterms: Khamenei warns hostility persists

Iranian officials welcomed the Republican Party's losses in the US midterm elections, viewing them as a rejection of war, though Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei cautioned that US policy toward Iran would not change. Khamenei stated that hopes for a shift in US behavior through partisan changes are "seriously mistaken," citing Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz as shattering America's invincibility and warning of wider responses to any renewed attack. Other officials, including parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, celebrated the results as a public "NO TO WAR," while some analysts noted fears that Trump might retaliate personally. The US has warned of a possible short but intensive military campaign against Iran following the midterms, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard adviser said Tehran would target US bases in Gulf states like the UAE and Bahrain if they host attacks, promising a "new doctrine and new technology" in response.