Mehr News says Iran conflict and fuel costs contributed to Republican midterm losses

Mehr News has published an analysis arguing that the Republican Party's losses in the US midterm elections cannot be explained solely by party competition or public dissatisfaction with the economic performance of Donald Trump's administration. The outlet states that a major factor was the White House's foreign policy and the consequences of what it described as US and Israeli aggression against Iran, a confrontation whose costs, it says, crossed the region's borders, affected the energy market and reached the daily lives of American citizens.

According to the report, Trump himself acknowledged the role of Iran in his party's electoral defeat. In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal, asked about the effect of the confrontation with Iran on Republican performance in the midterms, the president said: "Iran was one of those factors." He also cited the rise in oil prices as damaging the Republicans' political position, while defending his decision and saying he would repeat it in the same situation. At the same time, Trump claimed the most important reason for the defeat was that his name was not on the ballots. Mehr News characterized these remarks as an effort to reduce his own responsibility but also as a notable admission about the consequences of his administration's foreign policy.

The report said one of the most important consequences of the confrontation was its effect on the global energy market and on fuel prices in the United States. It cited disruption to energy transfer routes, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, and increased uncertainty in the oil market, which it said raised economic costs and placed new pressure on American households. This mattered, the outlet said, because Trump had won support from a significant part of the electorate with a promise to reduce inflation and living costs. According to the figures cited, the price of regular gasoline in the US exceeded four dollars per gallon, about one dollar higher than the same period the previous year, and oil prices rose at some points during the crisis to around 112 dollars per barrel. For the American citizen, the report said, these are not merely global market indicators, since higher fuel costs directly affect commuting, the transportation of goods and the price of many services and products.

Mehr News also cited election exit polls indicating that nearly 90 percent of voters considered living costs an important or very important factor in their choice, about two-thirds identified Trump as responsible for high prices of goods and services, and 62 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the president's performance. The report said Democrats were able to link rising fuel prices and living costs to the government's policies, turning the confrontation from a complex international file into a tangible issue for voters. It added that trade tariffs, inflation, the situation of Republican candidates and general dissatisfaction with the government's performance also played a role, but that Trump's explicit acknowledgment of Iran's role and his emphasis on oil prices showed the file had become a vulnerable point for his administration.

The report further noted the reaction of Andy Burnham, described as British prime minister, who it said viewed the US election results as an opportunity for the international community to focus on ending the conflict with Iran and reducing living costs. Mehr News concluded that the midterm elections showed how a costly foreign policy can weaken an incumbent government domestically, with the costs first appearing in the energy market and citizens' livelihoods and then in political competition.