Crowds gathered in Tehran on Wednesday to mark what many in Iran viewed as an embarrassing night for the US President, setting fire to a poster depicting Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The demonstration took place alongside a state-organised rally commemorating the anniversary of the student seizure of the US embassy in Tehran during the 1979 Islamic revolution. Chanting and waving Iranian flags, participants celebrated both the historical event and the Republican Party's setback in the US midterm elections, a defeat partly attributed to Trump's war in Iran.
Tehran taunts Trump over midterm loss
Iranian officials and state media ridiculed the US president over his party's midterm outcome, while his supporters debated the reasons behind the Democratic Party's victory. Vice President JD Vance said in a social media post that, based on polling data, the top four explanations for the substantial loss were the war, cost of living and inflation, the need to prioritise 'America First' and altering the US' relationship with Israel.
Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, endorsed the vice president's view in an extended social media post attributing the Republican losses to the Iran war. Attention has now turned to the administration's position on the continuing conflict.
Iran on high alert despite celebration
Tehran praised the midterm results as proof that voters rejected the war initiated by Mr Trump, though concerns persist that the US might still conduct strikes. Two high-ranking Iranian sources told Reuters that while Iranian leaders welcomed the Democrats' victory, Tehran harboured concerns that Mr Trump might seek to compensate for the defeat with a military strike, leaving the country on high alert.
Iran's judiciary chief, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, reflected the mood in a post on X, stating: "Trump failed both in war and in politics. We will certainly impose even more defeats upon him."
Anniversary of embassy seizure
The poster burning occurred during the rally marking the anniversary of the 1979 embassy seizure, when radical students stormed the US embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The crisis deepened the rift between Tehran and Washington, and the two nations still maintain no formal diplomatic relations.
