Iranian leaders cite U.S. midterms in Tehran embassy anniversary rallies

Iranian officials declared the U.S. midterm election results a victory for Tehran on Wednesday.

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, killing longtime supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The conflict has lasted more than eight months and has disrupted global energy markets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Despite ceasefire agreements, military confrontations have continued in southern Iran and around the strait. The U.S. maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports, with thousands of troops stationed in the region. Another aircraft carrier and additional troops are currently en route to the Middle East.

On Monday, the U.S. carried out limited strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm and Hengam islands and near the port city of Bandar Abbas. Authorities have not disclosed the specific sites struck or the extent of the damage. The strait, which carried about a fifth of the world's oil supply before the war, has seen repeated incidents involving commercial shipping. Iran has restricted shipping through the waterway since the conflict began.

Wednesday marked the 47th anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Thousands of people paraded through the Iranian capital to commemorate the event. On that date in 1979, Iranian students stormed the embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. They were released on Jan. 20, 1981. During Wednesday's rallies, demonstrators burned American and Israeli flags and chanted slogans against both nations. Effigies of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were displayed in the crowds.

Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani told the demonstrators that the U.S. and Israel had suffered a decisive defeat in recent elections. He claimed that political rivals in the United States acknowledged this failure was the result of the Iranian people's perseverance. Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, wrote on X that Americans said no to war due to conscience or the cost of living. He warned that if the U.S. government betrays its public will, it will learn that Iran's no comes with a nightmare.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has not been seen publicly since the war began. In a letter shared on social media, he stated that those who hope for a change in U.S. behavior through partisan shifts are gravely mistaken. He said giving concessions to America would not dissuade it from hostility toward the Iranian nation. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, Iran's judiciary chief, also linked the election results to the war, writing that Trump failed in both war and politics.

Back-channel negotiations continue as Israel and Middle Eastern allies lobby the Trump administration. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he and the president feel good about the prospects for a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu reportedly pushed for more strikes during a weekend call with Trump. Mediators are trying to advance a framework where Iran halts attacks in the strait in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade.