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Iran takes a victory lap over stunning US election results, claims ‘collapse has accelerated’
Democrats weren’t the only ones celebrating amid shattering defeats for Republicans in the midterm elections — Iranian leaders also took a victory lap Wednesday.
Iran cast the results — where Democrats made gains even in traditional Republican strongholds — as a rejection of President Donald Trump’s war and a decisive referendum on the economic toll it took on American voters in the months before the election.
«The process of the US’s collapse has accelerated,» Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, posted on an official English language account on X.
«Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,» Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has also served as Tehran’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington, posted on X.
STATE OF PLAY: BLUE WAVE SWEEPS DEMOCRATS INTO POWER, WITH KEY RACES STILL HANGING IN BALANCE
«If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,» Ghalibaf added.
Khamenei, meanwhile, appeared to signal Iran would dig in its heels rather than negotiate with the U.S.
«The Great Satan [the US] wants the surrender of the Iranian nation. The slightest inclination toward submission would cause the immense capital acquired through the blessings brought by the blood of our martyrs and the sacrifices of the entire Iranian nation to be lost,» he wrote in another post on X.
«It would embolden the enemy to launch more wars, and carry out its next acts of aggression.»
The declarations came after Democrats seized control of Congress Tuesday night in a political bloodbath for Republicans, delivering a major rebuke to Trump after a campaign dominated by concerns over affordability and the months-long war with Iran that the president repeatedly promised was nearing its end.
When the attacks began earlier this year, Trump said it would last a weeks — maybe a bit over a month. It has now been raging for more than eight months.
TRUMP CALLS IRAN CONFLICT A ‘SOFT WAR,’ INSISTS US HOLDS THE CARDS AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Iran was hardly the only issue driving voters to the polls — but the conflict became increasingly intertwined with Americans’ economic concerns as the war sent energy prices higher and impacted the costs of gas and most goods.
Polling ahead of Election Day showed deep public dissatisfaction with the Iran conflict.
Trump himself acknowledged after the results came in that Iran «partly» played a role in Republicans’ losses, even as he continued to defend his decision to go to war.
Vice President JD Vance was much more blunt, writing in a lengthy X post: «The reason we lost is the war.»
«If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,» he continued. «Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.»
Other voices in Tehran also claimed vindication in the wake of the results.
TRUMP ADMIN THREATENS IRAN WITH ‘CONSEQUENCES’ AS ALLIES CONVENE AMID THREATS OF POST-ELECTION ESCALATION
Iranian Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad called the Republican losses the «aftershocks» of what he described as Trump’s defeat at the hands of Iran, while a senior official in Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s office claimed the war and U.S. support for Israel had brought Republicans an historic electoral defeat.
Trump entered the conflict predicting a short war.
In the opening days of Operation Epic Fury, the president repeatedly said the campaign would take roughly four to six weeks and soon declared U.S. forces were running «substantially ahead» of schedule. American and Israeli strikes quickly eliminated senior Iranian military leaders and battered Tehran’s military infrastructure.
But the war proved far easier to start than to end.
Iran retaliated by choking commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that before the war carried roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, while launching attacks on energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. Shipping through the strait nearly ground to a halt in the early weeks of the conflict, removing millions of barrels of oil from global markets and sending energy prices sharply higher.
Iranian attacks damaged oil and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere in the Gulf, further squeezing supplies. By the end of May, more than 1.1 billion barrels of crude that would ordinarily have reached global markets had been disrupted, according to the International Monetary Fund.
THE OVERLOOKED WAY THE IRAN WAR IS MAKING GROCERIES, AMAZON PACKAGES AND NEW HOMES MORE EXPENSIVE
What Trump initially described as a matter of weeks instead stretched across much of 2026, as the administration struggled to secure lasting freedom of navigation through Hormuz and Iran retained the ability to threaten commercial shipping and its Gulf neighbors.
The economic consequences followed Americans home.
Oil prices surged after the war began, feeding through to gasoline and other consumer costs just as Republicans headed into a midterm election already dominated by concerns over affordability.
Even after U.S.-led operations restored much of the traffic through Hormuz by the fall, oil flows remained below prewar levels and Iran continued attacking commercial vessels.
The prolonged conflict also complicated Trump’s effort to argue that the war had already accomplished its central objectives. By October, the president was disputing that he had ever promised the entire conflict would end within four to six weeks, saying that timeline referred only to eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat.
war with iran, donald trump, congress, midterm elections, national security, politics, geopolitics, foreign affairs
INTERNACIONAL
Trump ‘couldn’t transfer the love’ of his supporters to other Republicans amid historic midterm loss
President Donald Trump said he «couldn’t transfer the love» his supporters hold for him to other Republican candidates in his first public appearance after Democrats captured the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
«If I were on the ballot, we would have won. You saw the people that were packed. Thousands and thousands of people at every rally. And if I was on the ballot, we would have won,» he said while taking questions at a ceremony to raise the final steel beam for the ballroom Wednesday.
«But they just… You couldn’t transfer that love. There was such love at those rallies. It was incredible. And, we weren’t able to transfer the love to candidates,» he said.
Trump did not address the election loss during his initial remarks, choosing to focus solely on the ballroom’s construction until he took questions from reporters.
AMERICA SAW THE BLUE WAVE COMING — BUT DRASTICALLY UNDERESTIMATED THE EXTENT OF THE DEM TSUNAMI
Trump did address the election after being asked if he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the Iran war cost Republicans the election.
«I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term and probably that’s, probably it’s true,» he admitted.
«But at the same time, if I had it to do again, I’d have to do it again, because long term, it’s the only answer. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear war,» Trump added.
TRUMP CALLS IRAN CONFLICT A ‘SOFT WAR,’ INSISTS US HOLDS THE CARDS AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS
The president also said he felt the tradeoff was worth it.
«You have no choice. I mean, I thought the oil would go up a lot more, and I did it on that basis. You have no choice. You have to do it. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon or everything that you see here someday might not exist,» he said.
Trump then addressed criticisms of his Monday speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool after being asked if he regretted the speech’s timing.
«I heard it was a very good speech, got great reviews. That was only a speech on the reflecting pool that had nothing to do with anything else. That was a speech, very much like this is today on this incredible place that we’re building at the White House. It’s going to be here for many, many years and serving our country,» he said.
CONSERVATIVES STUNNED BY ‘CATASTROPHIC’ MIDTERM BLUE TSUNAMI, BLAME TRUMP’S IRAN WAR, HIGH GAS PRICES
He also reflected on a lengthy post-mortem social media post from Vance that pinned Republicans’ Tuesday losses largely on the Iran war. In the post, Vance cited four primary things Republicans can do to win back voters: «1) End the war 2) Focus on cost of living/inflation 3) Put America First 4) Change our relationship to Israel.»
Trump was asked if he had any idea Vance was going to publish the remarks.
IRAN TAKES A VICTORY LAP OVER STUNNING US ELECTION RESULTS, CLAIMS ‘COLLAPSE HAS ACCELERATED’
«I know how he feels about it. I think it was, I think it was fine. Yeah, I thought it was good. We knew that, I know that. I knew that when I went in and we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. And they will never have a nuclear weapon,» he said.
Despite Democrats’ capture of large majorities in both the House and Senate, Trump appeared hopeful that he could still work with them.
TRUMP CONGRATULATES DEMOCRATS AFTER DOMINANT MIDTERMS, SAYS HE LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM
«I’ll get along probably with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive. But I have the power of the veto. So if we don’t like what they’re doing or they’ll… they’ve already called and they want to talk about things and that’s fine,» he remarked.
He also downplayed the likelihood that Democrats would move to impeach him or members of his Cabinet.
«I think it would. I think it would destroy… I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did it. Because impeachment for no reason. What? For having a successful country? Our country is more successful now than in any time in its history,» he told a reporter before saying, «Watch the beam go up.»
donald trump, politics, midterm elections, elections, presidential, war with iran
INTERNACIONAL
Bukele warns Haitian gang leaders that his forces will ‘finish’ them as he did in El Salvador
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After crushing powerful criminal gangs in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has turned his attention to the Caribbean nation of Haiti, deploying 2,000 troops after four Salvadoran military aviation technicians disappeared following an Oct.18 ambush near Port-au-Prince.
«We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too,» Bukele wrote in a message on X directed at Haiti’s criminal groups. Bukele stressed that the operation’s objective was not to invade Haiti or conduct a long-term occupation, but to recover the four missing Salvadorans alive.
The disappearance has become a national priority for Bukele, who has warned Haitian gang leaders that El Salvador is prepared to use overwhelming force if the men are not returned alive.
FLORIDA JURY CONVICTS 4 MEN WHO PLOTTED ASSASSINATION OF HAITI’S PRESIDENT FROM SOUTH FLORIDA HUB
In a screen grab taken from a video released Oct. 29, 2026, soldiers walk across the airport tarmac to board an aircraft after El Salvador’s deployment of thousands of troops to Haiti, days after four Salvadoran members of a U.N.-backed force went missing in a gang ambush, in Comalapa, El Salvador. (Handout via Reuters)
The aviation technicians were assigned to a medical unit as part of the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti when their armored vehicle was attacked in Croix-des-Bouquets. Haiti’s National Police announced Tuesday, more than two weeks after the attack, that it had found the charred remains of the vehicle in the Santo neighborhood of Croix-des-Bouquets. Police said, however, they found no sign of the missing men.
El Salvador says the men were abducted, the Haitian government says the soldiers are missing, and one gang leader says they are dead.
In a post on X Tuesday, directed at the «Haitian people» and written in Haitian creole, Bukele recalled the 1806 assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who proclaimed Haiti’s independence from France in 1804 and who many regard as the founder of Haiti.
«Dessalines liberated Haiti, but some people who were by his side betrayed him and killed him,» Bukele said. «Those traitors still exist in Haiti.»
SUSPECTS IN HAITIAN PRESIDENT’S ASSASSINATION TRANSFERRED TO MIAMI, ACCUSED OF FUNDING PLOT WITH COVID FRAUD
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele joined the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., warning attendees that violent gang members in his country have a documented history of worshiping Satan. (Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bukele also reposted video of a helicopter engagement in Croix-des-Bouquets.
«Gangs were attacking GSF soldiers from Chad,» he wrote. «We arrived quickly and repelled the attackers with our attack helicopters.»
Bukele has the backing of President Donald Trump, who, when asked by reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Halloween, confirmed speaking with the Salvadoran president.
«He said that he has a big problem with Haiti,» Trump said. «They killed some of his people. I said, ‘You’re running your country. You have to do what you have to do.’»
Unlike previous foreign interventions, Bukele’s deployment has the backing of Haiti’s transitional government.
«The international force is not here to replace the state,» Haitian Prime Minister Didier Fils-Aimé said Tuesday in his first remarks about the deployment. «They’re here to support us.»
Fils-Aimé added that Bukele «understands our fight. … He came to stand on the side of the Haitian people.»
‘DONROE’ DOCTRINE AND CONSERVATIVE VICTORIES SQUEEZE CARTELS IN LATIN AMERICA
An armored personnel carrier of Haiti’s U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF) patrols an area after El Salvador announced a rescue mission for four air force members in the GSF who went missing after a gang ambush in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 23, 2026. (Patrice Noel/Reuters)
The operation has drawn criticism from human-rights advocates and gang leaders who warn that a military escalation could worsen civilian suffering. The U.N. says at least 5,700 people have been killed or injured due to the gang violence in Haiti since Jan. 1 as security forces struggle to contain the violence.
The U.N. has also indicated that El Salvador’s deployment is separate from the GSF and has warned El Salvador must follow applicable international law.
One of those gang leaders is Wilson Joseph, known as «Lanmò Sanjou,» leader of the powerful 400 Mawozo gang. He accused rival gang Chen Mechan of carrying out the ambush and claimed the Salvadorans are dead, he told The Associated Press.
Joseph also sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres asking the U.N. for mediation and warning Bukele’s «vengeful remarks, expectations, and threats … will lead to an escalation of violence and a logic of reprisals, of which the Haitian people would be the first victims.»
EXCLUSIVE: HAITIAN ILLEGAL ALIEN GANG MEMBER WHO WENT VIRAL YELLING ‘BIDEN FOREVER’ DURING ICE ARREST DEPORTED
An armed member of the G9 and Family gang patrols a roadblock in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Joseph was indicted by the U.S. in 2022 on hostage-taking charges related to the 2021 kidnapping of 17 missionaries, including 16 Americans, and remains the subject of a reward of up to $1 million for his arrest.
Bukele dismissed such appeals, accusing gang leaders of attempting to use civilians and international concerns about human rights as a shield to preserve their power and avoid accountability. Bukele has said that negotiations have only prolonged the crisis that has devastated Haiti for years.
After years as one of the world’s most violent countries, dominated by powerful gangs including MS-13, El Salvador launched an unprecedented crackdown in 2022 under a state of emergency. Authorities carried out tens of thousands of arrests, ultimately detaining more than 90,000 suspected gang members.
Supporters credit the strategy with driving homicide rates to historic lows and restoring public safety. Critics accuse Bukele’s government of human-rights abuses, arbitrary detentions and erosion of due-process protections.
Salvadoran soldiers return to a base after El Salvador deployed thousands of troops to Haiti in response to four Salvadoran members of a UN-backed force that went missing in a gang ambush, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 30, 2026. (Patrice Noel/Reuters)
The question now is whether that model can be exported to Haiti, where gangs control large portions of Port-au-Prince and wield influence over key transportation routes and neighborhoods. Despite years of international intervention, security conditions have continued to deteriorate.
The GSF has struggled with manpower shortages and operational limitations, operating below its Security Council-approved intended strength, leaving Haiti’s government unable to reassert full control over much of the capital.
«We can help you defeat them, but we are not your enemies,» Bukele wrote on Tuesday. «We must stand up, take back control of our communities, and put under our control those who are making us endure all this pain, all this suffering. We are right there beside you… Haiti will be free.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
central america, caribbean region, organized crime, national security, conflicts
INTERNACIONAL
James Talarico, el rostro joven de la histórica victoria demócrata que se suma a la carrera presidencial del 2028 en EE.UU.
Es el rostro más visible de la victoria demócrata sobre Donald Trump. Tiene 37 años, rostro de niño y apellido italiano. James Talarico pateó el tablero político en Texas y fue electo senador por el Partido Demócrata en un tradicional bastión conservador.
Será el legislador más joven del nuevo Senado estadounidense, tras unas elecciones que delinearon un nuevo mapa político con un Congreso dominado por la oposición.
Su triunfo sobre su rival republicano Ken Paxton fue histórico y lo catapultó a la primera línea de la carrera presidencial demócrata para las elecciones de 2028, junto a la exvicepresidenta Kamala Harris.
Talarico, maestro y seminarista presbiteriano, ganó en forma holgada a pesar de los fondos millonarios de la campaña republicana, la más cara para una elección no presidencial en la historia del estado. Según los resultados oficiales, ganó con el 54% de los votos.
Se estima que más de U$S 500 millones fueron donados a las arcas republicanas para evitar una derrota que no se daba desde hace casi 40 años. Solo Elon Musk giró unos U$S 200 millones, de acuerdo a la prensa local.
“David no era tan grande ni tan fuerte como Goliat. No tenía tantas armas, pero tenía esperanza. Tenía fe y tenía una honda. Ustedes fueron mi honda. Gracias. El pueblo de Texas fue mi honda. Y esta noche, hemos derrotado a Goliat”, dijo Talarico en un acto en Austin, capital de Texas.
Quién es James Talarico
Talarico nació el 17 de mayo de 1989 en Round Rock, en la periferia de Austin.
Se dedicó a la docencia y trabajó en una escuela pública de San Antonio antes de lanzarse a la política.
Su abuelo fue un pastor bautista. El flamante senador es abiertamente religioso y suele citar a Jesús en sus discursos, lo que lo diferencia de otros dirigentes del partido más inclinados a la izquierda, como la diputada Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez o el también electo senador Abdul El-Sayed, que será el primer miembro musulmán de la cámara alta.
De hecho, Talarico estudia actualmente en el Seminario Teológico Presbiteriano después de obtener un máster en política educativa en Harvard.
“Su perfil lo hace candidateable (en las elecciones presidenciales de 2028), sobre todo porque es joven. Además, es moderado, dentro de todo lo que representa el ala más radical y extremista del Partido Demócrata”, dijo a TN el analista Mauro Enbe.
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