Iran has criticised the Donald Trump administration over its military campaign against Tehran, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taking a swipe at US Vice President JD Vance after he blamed the war for the Republican Party's setback in the November 3 midterm elections.
Reacting to Vance's post on social media acknowledging the election setback, Ghalibaf wrote, "Losing gambler energy, can't walk away from the table."
"Boss is prepping the next war phase while America teeters on an Israel-first cliff. Skip the TED talk. Why not say this to your boss?" he added, in an apparent reference to Trump and his administration's policy towards Iran.
Vance, in a lengthy post on Wednesday, said Republicans lost support because voters who backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election had switched to the Democrats. He identified the war with Iran, rising living costs and inflation, the need to return to the 'America First' agenda and Washington's relationship with Israel as key concerns among voters.
"The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance wrote. He also questioned whether the military campaign was worth the political cost, pointing out that Republicans had lost control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The November 3 elections saw Democrats make major gains, taking control of both chambers of Congress and dealing a significant setback to Trump's administration.
The conflict has also pushed up crude oil and fuel prices, adding to the cost-of-living pressures on American households. The US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, killing its Supreme Leader. Tehran retaliated by targeting US military bases in the Gulf and shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
Ghalibaf also welcomed the Republican defeat in a separate post, saying, "Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message."
Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said US hostility towards Tehran would continue irrespective of which political party controlled Washington. He warned that any renewed aggression against Iran would widen the conflict.
Trump, however, defended the military campaign, saying preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons was more important than the political fallout. He acknowledged that the war had contributed to Republican losses, partly because of higher fuel prices, but maintained that the military action was necessary.
The conflict has also widened regional tensions, with Israel carrying out strikes in Lebanon and Yemen's Houthis targeting energy facilities, airports and other sites in Saudi Arabia.