Iran's Supreme Leader expects no change of course by the US, the Kremlin hopes for further mediation by Trump
Mojtaba Khamenei warns against hopes of change in Washington, Kremlin spokesman Peskov calls the role of Congress an internal affair of the US.
After the Democrats' election victory according to projections, Iran's leadership and the Kremlin commented on 4 November 2026. Both stress that little changes for them, but draw different conclusions from this. There is no official final result of the election yet.
Iran: warning against hopes. According to the US broadcaster CBS News (14:31 CET), Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei stated in a message on his official website that Tehran does not expect the election result to change Washington's stance. Anyone who hopes for change through shifts between parties, or believes that concessions could dissuade the US from its hostility towards Iran, is gravely mistaken. The website itself was not accessed for this report. In the morning, Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf had still welcomed the result as the Americans saying no to war, see Reports.
Russia: hope for Trump's mediation. According to Meduza (citing RBC) and Rambler (13:27 CET, citing Moskva 24), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump retains his powers: “Мы искренне рассчитываем на то, что он продолжит и свои миротворческие усилия” (We firmly count on him also continuing his peace efforts). There will soon be another round of trilateral talks. According to CBS News, a working-level round between Russia and Ukraine under US mediation is scheduled for 10 and 11 November in Abu Dhabi. According to Meduza, Peskov called the question of whether the new Congress will rein in Trump an internal affair of America. In the morning, Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov had said that Russia's line on Ukraine does not depend on elections in other countries.
Iran therefore sees no reason in the election to hope for détente, while Russia continues to rely on the president and not on Congress. No statements on the result could be found by about 17:30 CET from the governments of Israel, Turkey, India and the Gulf states. These are the views of the respective governments. The state of the count is at the Senate and the House of Representatives.