"In one sentence, we’re not pinning any hopes on [the US congressional midterm elections] or the 2020 [US presidential elections]," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with USA Today one day before the US midterm elections. "What distinguishes Iran from some US clients in the region is that we have survived not only in spite of the US but against [the] US." The comment probably wouldn’t mean that Iran's top diplomat and his team of experts were not closely monitoring the results, which showed a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives was just in the making.
Whether a victory for US Democrats makes a real difference for the Islamic Republic is a divisive question. Under the country's official line and rhetoric, the answer is 'no'. But amid the high pressure US President Donald Trump is exerting on Iran, many are still crossing their fingers that a Democratic win could pull his brakes and moderate his anti-Iran policies.
