The first comment from Iran's leader on the results of the American midterm elections.. What did he say?

- Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Wednesday that anyone who believes that the results of the US midterm elections will lead to a change in Washington’s position towards Tehran is “completely mistaken.” The official Iranian news agency (IRNA) quoted Khamenei as saying: “Anyone who still clings to the slightest hope that the ‘hegemonic regime’ will change its behavior or witness partisan and factional shifts, or believes that making concessions to the United States might push it to abandon its hostility to the Iranian people, is completely delusional.”

Khamenei pointed out that continuing the “stronger Iran” strategy represents the only way to reach what he called “absolute deterrence,” warning that any tendency toward making concessions to the United States or surrendering to it would encourage it to maintain pressure and wage new wars against Iran. He added that this year the Iranian people have become "more clear and transparent than any previous year in determining their position toward the criminal America."

Referring to the military developments in the region, Khamenei said, “Iran extended its control over the Strait of Hormuz and eliminated American military bases in the countries of the region, and although it was a response to the American aggression and its crimes in the third imposed war, it is at the same time considered an elementary jihad against arrogance on a regional level, and it is a jihad whose dimensions will expand to a much wider scope if the attacks are repeated.” It is noteworthy that the Supreme Leader has not appeared in public since his appointment in late February, following the killing of his father and predecessor in US-Israeli raids earlier this year.

The joint US-Israeli war on Iran topped the election campaigns ahead of the midterm elections, especially after the escalation of violence in the region this year led to a rise in gasoline and diesel prices, affecting millions of families around the world, including within the United States. A historic democratic wave swept the political scene on Wednesday, pushing the party to the forefront of the political scene in Congress and legislative assemblies across the country, in a move that reflected voters’ rejection of President Donald Trump’s policies and their dropping of candidates they supported in pivotal electoral races.