US midterm results: Obama hails Democratic wave, Iran’s Ghalibaf says Americans voted ‘No to war’

The message from the 2026 US midterm elections is being read well beyond Washington. As Democrats make sweeping gains in traditionally Republican territory, former president Barack Obama has welcomed the result as a call for more constructive politics. In Tehran, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has offered a different interpretation: that American voters are tired of war.

The results have delivered a major setback to President Donald Trump. Democrats have secured control of the Senate and are on the brink of taking the House of Representatives, according to the latest Associated Press updates. The shift could give the opposition party powerful new tools to challenge the administration during Trump's final two years in office.

Obama says voters want politics that brings Americans together

Reacting to the results on X, Obama praised Democratic candidates who won in states and districts previously considered difficult territory for the party. He said the election had sent a message that Americans wanted leaders offering practical solutions rather than deepening political divisions. "Tonight, the American people sent a clear message — they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face," he wrote.

The former president also thanked election officials and volunteers from both parties, while urging Democrats to use their new influence to prevent further damage and prepare for the future.

Iran’s Ghalibaf interprets Democratic gains as rejection of war

The results have also attracted attention in Tehran, where the US-Israel-Iran conflict has become a major point of contention. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf took to X to suggest that the election reflected American opposition to the war. “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message. If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he wrote.

His remarks frame the Democratic gains as a rebuke to Washington's military policy. However, the election results do not establish that opposition to the Iran war alone determined how Americans voted. The Associated Press reported that economic pressures, high prices and dissatisfaction with the administration were also central concerns.

Trump rejects the idea that midterm losses are a verdict on him

Trump has congratulated Democrats but rejected the suggestion that the results amount to a personal setback. In a phone interview with Fox News, he said: “I don’t view it as a hit on me...We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency in terms of the economy, in terms of all the things that we’ve done.”

He also blamed some Republican candidates for failing to attract voters, saying: “In some cases they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend and the base knows that better than anybody. And they stayed back.”

Iran war, inflation and congressional checks shape the election fallout

The election has exposed Republican vulnerabilities in states such as Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, where Democrats secured major Senate victories. Reuters reported that the Iran war, which drove fuel prices higher, and anxiety over the cost of living weighed on Trump's party.

The Associated Press voter poll also found that many Americans wanted Congress to impose stronger checks on the President.

With the Senate now in Democratic hands and the House majority within reach, the opposition could launch investigations, issue subpoenas and scrutinise the administration's decisions. For Trump, the political challenge is no longer just explaining the election result. It is governing with a Congress increasingly prepared to challenge him.

(With inputs from ANI)