Iran warns of wider war if US attacks resume

Iran's supreme leader warned on Wednesday that the Middle East war would widen if the US resumes its attacks, dismissing hopes of a policy shift in Washington after…

Iran's supreme leader warned on Wednesday that the Middle East war would widen if the US resumes its attacks, dismissing hopes of a policy shift in Washington after midterm elections dealt a blow to US President Donald Trump. Trump has recently threatened to renew the war against Iran amid similar rhetoric from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but on Tuesday he suffered a resounding defeat in polls that will strip his Republicans of control over Congress.

The results could constrain Trump's ability to enact his agenda, though the president retains the power to order new strikes. "Those who still harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system might change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation, are seriously mistaken," Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement on Wednesday.

He also warned that if the United States did choose further military action, the scope of the war would widen, without elaborating. Khamenei has yet to appear in public since he took power in March following the killing of his father and predecessor in US-Israeli strikes, and has communicated through written messages. Earlier, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the US, said Americans had voted against war in the midterms.

"Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message," he posted on X. "If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare," Ghalibaf said.

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei also hailed the election results, saying Trump had been "defeated both militarily and politically." The war has proved unpopular among the US public, who have seen the cost of living rise after a spike in energy prices caused by the war. Trump on Tuesday acknowledged the conflict may have played a part in the defeat of his Republican Party.