Tehran displays new anti-Trump billboard after US midterm losses
Iranian officials celebrated the US election results, but the strait of Hormuz remains blocked and a Chinese envoy is heading to the region.
By Harper Collins ·
A large billboard now hangs over Enqelab Square in central Tehran. The sign displays a picture of Donald Trump behind bars with his head bowed. The text on the billboard reads, “We will kill Trump” in English.
The installation coincides with the US midterm election results released on Tuesday. Iranian leaders view the outcome as a defeat for the current US administration. They also mark the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran on the same day.
Ehsan Movaheidian, an international relations scholar, stated that the Islamic Republic has achieved regime change in America. He added that Europe will soon follow. Meisam Zohurian, a conservative member of parliament, said the results showed the aggressor was smeared in the dirt. Ali Nikzad, the first deputy speaker of the parliament, described the electoral defeats as aftershocks of Trump’s defeat by the Iranian people.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned against expecting a shift in US policy. He wrote that those hoping for a change through partisan shifts are seriously mistaken. He argued that making concessions to the United States will not dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, urged Trump to accept the American public’s verdict. On social media, he said the US said no to war. He added that if the US government betrays the public will, it will learn that Iran’s no comes with a nightmare.
The strait of Hormuz remains under Iranian control. This has transmitted inflation and high diesel prices to the US system. Trump accepted on Wednesday that the American people decided the short-term pain of inflation was not worth paying to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
China is testing the feasibility of a deal where Iran dilutes its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. A Chinese special envoy is traveling to Oman, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Gulf monarchies, Russia, and China may ask Iran to reflect on the wisdom of war. They can point out that Trump did not capitulate in the run-up to the elections.
Both sides and Qatar used polling day as a lever. Neither side retreated. Trump kept his determination to keep Iran in his vice. He suggested a settlement might be imminent to keep the oil price low. Trump has greater latitude for the next two months before the new Congress convenes in January.
Laura Loomer, an influencer, wrote on X that Trump should deal with Iran once and for all. She said there is nothing to lose now. Benjamin Netanyahu is touting intelligence that Iran is preparing to use chemical weapons. Hillary Clinton believes Trump will feel trapped and react aggressively.
Trump told Fox News this week that Iran has very few missiles and drones left. He said they have even less capacity to build more. He stated, “We are dealing with total strength. We can end it any time.”
