Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Wednesday that any fresh US military action against Iran would widen the war across West Asia, and dismissed hopes that the Republican Party's defeat in the US midterm elections would soften Washington's stance.
In a written statement, Khamenei said those who believed America's behaviour could change through "partisan or factional shifts", or that concessions could end its hostility towards Iran, were "seriously mistaken". He has not appeared in public since taking power in March, after his father was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said American voters had said "no to war", while President Donald Trump acknowledged the conflict was "part" of the reason for his party's losses. The warning follows US strikes on an air-defence site on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, though Trump has said a full return to hostilities may not be needed.
Mediators are still working towards a deal. Qatar said both sides were reviewing its proposals, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government remained committed to diplomacy.
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