Iran Tells Trump to Accept Americans Have Turned Against His War, Says Iranian Resistance Denied Him Victory

Iran told Donald Trump on Monday (9 November) to accept that Americans have turned against his war, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei claiming Iranian resistance had denied the US president the victory he wanted to present at home.

At his weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei said that without the resilience of ordinary Iranians, the administration could have sold the war to Americans as a win. He attributed the upheaval in US politics to Iran's 'epic resistance'.

He cited Washington's own admission. Republicans lost more than 40 House seats, at least seven Senate seats, and control of Congress on 3 November. In a CBS 60 Minutes interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump said the primary reason was that 'I was not on the ballot,' but he also named the war, rising fuel prices, and what he called a 'great dislike' for Israel. 'They didn't like the war,' he said.

He still called his answer to whether he would attack Iran again an 'emphatic yes', and told the programme, 'We won Venezuela, we won Iran.'

Tehran Sees No Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

Baghaei insisted 'there is no distinction between the various parties and groups within the US power structure', citing what he called six decades of hostility from both parties.

'US officials must grasp this message: adhering to the policies of a genocidal regime [in Israel] and engaging in military aggression against Iran – beyond disrupting regional security, the global economy, and international norms – imposes heavy and irreparable costs upon American society and the US ruling establishment itself,' he added.

Baghaei had addressed Trump on X on 4 November, writing, 'The American people have now sent you a clear message.' Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted that 'Americans said NO TO WAR,' while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said US hostility would continue whichever party held power.

Tehran had courted the vote: on 29 September, the Revolutionary Guards published an open letter urging Americans to reject Trump's policies, and Trump had accused Iran of dragging out the war to damage Republicans.

Iron Gate Task Force Dismissed as a 'Diversion'

Baghaei also called Task Force Iron Gate a diversion from the election results. US Central Command set up the 20-person unit on Saturday (7 November) to disrupt weapons, sanctioned materials, and illicit revenue crossing Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that, with the naval blockade, 'very little gets into, or out of, Iran!'

CENTCOM said the blockade, reinstated on 14 July after a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire ended, had stopped more than $25 billion (about £18.6 billion) in Iranian crude exports.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking on Sunday before G7 talks in Paris, called some of Iran's conditions 'outrageous and ridiculous'. Baghaei replied that Tehran wants sanctions lifted, the blockade ended, and the war halted on all fronts before negotiations begin. Under its two-day proposal, security would return to the Strait of Hormuz within two days.

The war began on 28 February with joint US and Israeli strikes. Major attacks have largely paused since September, though US forces struck Qeshm Island on 2 November in what officials called a defensive response. Trump told 60 Minutes he was not looking to escalate.

Democrats take control in January and could use Congress's spending power and a War Powers Resolution to end the war, though overriding a Trump veto would need Republican votes.