Iran’s chief negotiator says Americans voted ‘no to war’

Iran's chief negotiator in discussions with the United States has stated that Americans rejected "NO TO WAR" following President Donald Trump's Republican Party's significant loss in the midterm elections. "We endorse this message," parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf declared on X. "If the US [government] defies their public will to benefit international paymasters and blackmailers, it will face our NO with a Nightmare," he cautioned.

President Trump acknowledged that the poor performance of Republican candidates might be linked to the war and the subsequent rise in gasoline prices. However, he maintained that he did not regret initiating a joint attack with Israel on Iran in February. During an interview with Fox News, Trump attributed a portion of the midterm results to Iran, stating that while people generally support his policies regarding Iran, they may not have been prepared for the short-term consequences, namely higher gasoline prices.

Responding separately to the BBC's US news partner, CBS News, Trump indicated that the conflict would conclude once he decided it had ended. In recent weeks, he has warned that the US and Israel might resume full-scale war if a resolution to the conflict with Iran cannot be achieved following the midterm elections. Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since a reported serious injury during the war's initiation, stated that he did not anticipate any alteration in US policy. He also warned that the war would have "much wider dimensions" if it were to resume.

In a separate development, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that four oil tankers caught fire following an encounter with naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Two of the vessels remained ablaze, and two additional tankers were intercepted. The IRGC claimed they were traveling through a restricted southern route in the Strait of Hormuz.

However, BBC Verify has not been able to corroborate these claims. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a tanker was hit by two unidentified projectiles approximately 14 nautical miles (26km) northeast of Limah, Oman, on Tuesday evening. No casualties were reported. On Monday, an Indian crew member of a dhow was killed in an attack near Limah, with thirteen other crew members rescued by Omani authorities.

The IRGC also claimed to have shot down another US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the US officials refuted as the US military had conducted limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in response to the IRGC firing on a US aircraft. The conflict has severely impacted global oil and gas supplies, with the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of global oil and gas shipments typically pass, effectively closed due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and the US naval blockade.