Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf portrayed Democrats’ Nov. 3 gains in Congress as a rejection of war.
Thousands marched in Tehran on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at a government-organized demonstration. The Associated Press reported that marchers burned U.S. and Israeli flags, chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and displayed effigies of U.S. President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. NDTV separately reported that some posters carried the words “We will kill Trump” in English and Persian.
Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 election, AP and Reuters reported. Ghalibaf wrote on X: “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.” The post connected opposition to war with household costs in its account of the result.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei addressed the U.S. political shift separately in a Nov. 4 message on his official website. He said those who expected Washington’s behavior toward Iran to change with shifts between political parties were “gravely mistaken.”
The rally commemorates the seizure of the U.S. Embassy by Iranian students on Nov. 4, 1979. The takeover began a 444-day hostage crisis involving 52 Americans, AP reported.
The election came as the conflict affected energy markets and Iran’s economy. AP linked Democratic gains to voter frustration over the war and higher fuel and other costs. Reuters reported that fighting disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and raised global oil and gas prices, while a U.S. naval blockade was affecting Iran’s economy.
AP also reported that talks to prevent renewed fighting were continuing.
