What ordinary Iranians think of the Democrats’ midterm victory

For many the question is not simply which party controls Congress, but which political force in Washington is more likely to put pressure on the Islamic Republic.

By Maddie Ali, The Algemeiner

The Iranian regime has welcomed the Democratic Party’s sweeping victory in the US midterm elections, presenting the results as a rejection of President Donald Trump’s policies and his war against Iran.

But among ordinary Iranians, the reaction is far less straightforward—and much grimmer—according to several people of varied backgrounds who spoke to The Algemeiner inside Iran.

While some Iranians see the Republican defeat as a setback for an American president they hoped would bring an end to the Islamic Republic, others fear that a Democratic-controlled Congress could weaken Washington’s willingness to confront Tehran. In either case, the response is disappointment.

The contrast between the government’s interpretation and public opinion reveals a deeper divide over what kind of American policy could bring meaningful change to Iran.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was among the first senior Iranian officials to comment on the results.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said No To War, and we endorse this message.” He also warned Washington against disregarding the American electorate’s wishes.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei offered a different but equally hostile assessment of the American political system in his latest written statement, declaring that “the process of the US’s collapse has accelerated.”

He also cautioned against expecting a fundamental change in American policy toward Iran, arguing that a change of political parties would not end Washington’s hostility toward the country.

While Tehran has attempted to portray the Democratic victory as evidence of American opposition to Trump’s military campaign, Iranians don’t share their government’s opinion.

For many the question is not simply which party controls Congress, but which political force in Washington is more likely to put pressure on the Islamic Republic.

“It is important for Iranians who win US elections; their foreign policy affects us directly,” said Amir, a high school teacher. “I don’t think Democrats can handle the Iranian regime.”

His remarks reflect sentiment among various Iranians who view American foreign policy as directly connected to their country’s political future.

For them, a change in congressional leadership is not merely an internal American political development; it could influence sanctions, diplomatic negotiations, military decisions, and international pressure placed on Tehran.

Neda, an international relations student, expressed disappointment at Republican losses.

“I was waiting for Republicans to win, because only Republicans can take this regime down, but unfortunately Democrats won,” she said.

Her position reflects the expectations of Iranians who have placed their hopes in a tougher Republican approach toward the regime, on which the US has imposed onerous sanctions over supporting terrorism, abusing human rights, and pursuing a nuclear program that, according to Western governments, is ultimately meant to build weapons.

However, the Democratic victory on Tuesday does not mean an end to Trump’s presidency or a complete reversal of his foreign policy.

Trump remains president, and although Democrats will control both chambers of Congress come January, the administration retains significant authority over foreign policy and military decisions.

But for many Iranians, the outcome of American elections matters less than the broader question of whether the Islamic Republic will eventually lose its grip on power.

“It doesn’t really affect us Iranians who win in the US, although I wanted Republicans to win because I wanted this regime gone for good,” another Iranian said.

Mahsa, a nurse from Tehran, expressed a similar desire for decisive change in Iran.

“Trump is still president and we want him to finish the job,” she said.

Such comments illustrate how some Iranians distinguish between the American election results and their expectations of the sitting president.

They do not necessarily believe that a Democratic majority in Congress will prevent Trump from continuing his existing policies.

Their primary concern remains the future of the current Islamist, authoritarian system rather than the political fortunes of either American party.

Hassan, a civil engineer, compared the American electorate’s political choices with the decisions Iranians made before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which brought the current regime into power.

“Americans made the same mistake Iranians made, trusting the Islamists. We gave up our freedom for bread; Americans did the same,” he said.

His comparison refers to the broad coalition that brought down Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979. The opposition included liberals, nationalists, socialists, communists, religious scholars, and Islamist groups.

Although these movements shared opposition to the monarchy, they had substantively different visions for Iran’s future.

Many secular and left-wing activists supported the revolution, believing it would establish a more democratic and socially just political system.

Others expected that the clerical establishment would share political power with other revolutionary factions, but those expectations did not materialize.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic’s first supreme leader, and his supporters gradually consolidated control over the country’s political institutions, sidelining the very groups that had helped bring about the revolution.

The suppression of opposition intensified. Independent newspapers were closed.

Political organizations were restricted, and universities were shut down between 1980 and 1983 during the Cultural Revolution, which targeted liberal, secular, and left-wing academics and students.

The crackdown extended to former revolutionary allies. In June 1981, the authorities launched a major campaign against political opposition.

Thousands were arrested, imprisoned, or executed following proceedings that frequently lacked basic judicial safeguards.

The political diversity that had characterized the revolutionary coalition was systematically dismantled, leaving the clerical establishment with an unchallenged monopoly over power.

For Arash, a cafe owner, this history explains why he remains deeply skeptical of political cooperation between liberals and Islamists.

“We know very well when liberals shake hands with the Islamists what happens; there is no need to explain,” he said. “I think we Iranians are way ahead of Americans in politics.”

His remarks reflect a particularly bitter historical memory: Political groups that initially considered the Islamists allies eventually became victims of the very system they helped establish.

While the US faces a different political situation, many American commentators have noted a growing alliance across the country and broader Western world between far-left activists and Islamist political movements, often intersecting over animus toward Israel.

Many Republicans have pointed to Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat who became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate on Tuesday, as the embodiment of this alliance, advocating progressive policies such as universal healthcare while seemingly justifying violence against Jews and Israelis.

The senator-elect previously supported Muslim Brotherhood protesters in Egypt, although he disavowed the Islamist network on the campaign trail.

For ordinary Iranians, the stakes of the US election are considerably more personal.

Their concerns extend beyond American political rivalries to economic hardship, political repression, restrictions on individual freedoms, and uncertainty about their country’s future.

The Iranians interviewed by The Algemeiner expressed different degrees of interest in the American election, but a common thread ran through their responses: Their expectations of Washington were shaped less by American party politics than by their experiences and frustrations with the Islamic Republic.

Whether a Democratic-controlled Congress will constrain Trump’s policies, influence negotiations, or alter the future of US-Iran relations remains to be seen.

What is clear, however, is that many Iranians are watching American politics through the lens of their own country’s history.

For a population that has lived through decades of political repression and economic uncertainty, the question is not simply whether Democrats or Republicans win.

It is whether any political outcome in Washington can bring about a future in which Iranians have greater control over their own destiny.

DemocratsIranMidterm Elections