Strike or deal? What the midterms mean for Iran and Trump's next move

The Democratic Party's landslide midterm victory, which saw them take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, is expected to change U.S. foreign policy and leave Middle East leaders dealing with two different Washingtons. While the results may leave President Donald Trump weaker, some Iranian officials expect the country to remain in the crosshairs of his administration. Trump admitted that the war he began against Iran on the last day of February had impacted his party.

The U.S. State Department sanctioned two individuals and one entity in Nigeria, Russia, and Belarus on Wednesday for assisting Iran in procuring man-portable air-defense systems as part of Operation Economic Outcast. Separately, the Financial Times reported that Russia signed a deal to supply Iran with 90 advanced guided missile launchers.

This order involves a 2024-2025 production schedule from the Russian manufacturer Vympa. According to the Financial Times, internal Russian documents refer to Iran as K-10, and at least one contract for Yak-130 jet trainers aligns with previously reported deliveries to Iran in 2023 and 2024.

Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, OilPrice — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.