Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that the United States midterm elections will not change Washington's hostility towards Tehran, dismissing hopes that a change of party in Congress or concessions to the US could soften American policy.

In a written statement on his website on Wednesday, Khamenei said anyone expecting a shift in US policy was gravely mistaken. It came on the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.

'Gravely mistaken'

"If there are still those who harbor even a slight hope for a change in behavior or partisan and factional shifts within the system of domination, or who imagine that by giving concessions to America they can dissuade it from hostility toward the Iranian nation, they are gravely mistaken," Khamenei wrote, according to the Associated Press.

Khamenei, unseen in public since the war began in late February, also warned any renewed US attack would draw a far wider response. His father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a US-Israeli attack on his office in February.

Tehran hails the voters' verdict

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's vote, a sharp setback for President Donald Trump, driven by concern over the war and rising fuel and food prices. Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, wrote on X: "Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message."

Strikes and talks continue

Trump has acknowledged the war likely affected his party's performance, but argued voters were reacting to higher petrol prices. The elections came a day after an apparent limited strike on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Back-channel negotiations continue, and US Vice President JD Vance said he and Trump both felt pretty good about the prospects of a settlement.

[Source: Associated Press via Military.com](https://www.military.com/iranian-officials-say-midterm-results-show-us-voters-have-rejected-trumps-war) | [Source: Al Jazeera](https://aljazeeranews-3fuh52rgrl.edgeone.app/news/2026/11/4/iran-hails-us-voters-rejecting-war-while-khamenei-warns-hostility-wont-end)