Iranian parliament speaker criticises US leadership after Republican midterm loss
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Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused US officials of misjudging the conflict with Iran, while US Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump linked the war to the Republican Party's defeat in the 2026 midterms.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf used his X account to criticize US leadership, saying the United States was approaching an "Israel-First cliff" and that officials were showing "losing gambler energy" in negotiations. His remarks came after US Vice President JD Vance posted that the war with Iran was a primary factor in the Republican Party's sweeping defeat in the 2026 midterm elections, a view echoed by President Donald Trump.
Vance explained that internal campaign data showed strong turnout among conservative voters but noted that many who supported the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026. He said the main reason for the loss was the war, adding that voters also demanded an end to the conflict, attention to cost-of-living issues, an "America First" approach, and a change in the US relationship with Israel.
"The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone... The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance wrote.
Vance also defended commentators who advocated for diplomatic solutions to the conflict and warned against future proposals for immigration amnesty, describing them as misleading.
President Donald Trump, in a phone interview with the Wall Street Journal, acknowledged that "Iran was a piece of it" regarding the party's poor performance, while maintaining his support for the decision to initiate the war earlier in the year.
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between Iranian officials and US leadership as both sides assess the political fallout from the conflict.