Democrats take both US congressional chambers in midterms
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections on Tuesday, ending two years of unified Republican control. Voters cited the cost of living, inflation and the war with Iran. Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that the Iran war contributed to Republican losses, and told the Wall Street Journal he would have made the same decision again. Vice President JD Vance blamed the war for the losses in a long post on X. The new Congress begins in January.
Key facts
- Iranian officials celebrated the result as a setback for Trump, and Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf said Americans had said no to war.
- Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, seeking to restart talks including on Iran's nuclear program.
- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the US outreach constructive but ruled out an imminent meeting with US officials.
- Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said there will be no major change in the US approach to Iran.
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Why it matters
The Democratic majority can block President Trump's legislation and scrutinise his war spending in Iran.
What changed
First published from DW, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Straits Times