‘Seismic shift’: World reacts to US midterm election results

Iran’s top negotiator says US voters sent a “NO TO WAR” message, as Trump’s Democratic opponents take Congress.

Supporters cheer as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks at an election night event, in Las Vegas, November 4 [John Locher/AP Photo]

Democrats in the United States have scored a major victory in midterm elections, taking control of both chambers of Congress in a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

The results are being carefully watched outside the US, as foreign leaders consider how the new political reality in Washington could affect US foreign policy – from the conflict with Iran to the Russia-Ukraine war and trade relations.

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Trump himself has acknowledged the US-Israel war on Iran likely impacted his party’s poor performance in the elections, saying voters were probably not ready “for the short-term consequence of the price of gasoline”.

Here are the latest reactions from world leaders, as the scale of the Democratic victory continues to emerge:

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the chief negotiator in talks with the US, said voters had rejected conflict.

“Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” wrote Ghalibaf in a post on X.

“If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he added.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, meanwhile, said partisan shifts in Washington would not alter the US’s “hostility” towards Tehran.

“If there are still those who harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system could change through party or factional shifts, or who believe that making concessions to the US could persuade it to abandon its hostility towards the Iranian people, they are gravely mistaken,” said Khamenei in a statement shared by Iranian state media.

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Trump ally whose coalition lost its own majority in Israel’s parliament in elections last week.

However, opposition figure Yair Golan, whose party is in a coalition seeking to replace Netanyahu , said the US vote reveals “just how toxic Netanyahu has become” among US Democrats and Republicans alike.

He warned that if Netanyahu and his far-right government remain in power, Israel would be on “a path toward international sanctions, global isolation, and a confrontation with the United States – our most important friend and ally.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, also part of the anti-Netanyahu coalition, said the US vote effectively ruled out “any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu”.

European Parliament Vice President Christel Schaldemose said the US results left her “cautiously optimistic on Europe’s behalf”.

“Not because everything now ⁠⁠changes for the better, but because it could benefit the support for Ukraine, the green transition, and ⁠⁠relations with the rest of the world,” said Schaldemose in a post on X.

“But the EU must continue the course of standing stronger and standing on its own two feet. That’s not up for debate,” she added.

Health Minister James Frith stressed that the UK would maintain steady, strong ties with Washington despite an apparent “seismic shift in domestic politics for the Americans”.

“The change of emphasis of power in the States is frequent,” Frith told British media. “But the mainstay of the relationship with the UK Government, as its closest ally, is unwavering and unchanging.”

“So I don’t expect it to change the nature of the relationship at all; it remains very strong,” he added.

Finance Minister Roland Lescure said France would wait to see whether Trump, who remains in control of US foreign policy, adjusts his approach.

“Either he decides to rise above the fray – acknowledging that ‌‌changes are necessary, particularly regarding gasoline prices, which directly ‌‌affect people – and, I might add, he tones down his international involvement, or he does not,” Lescure told French TV. “Frankly, this is something we will need to keep an eye on in the ⁠⁠coming days.”

Left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the US Democrats’ landslide victory was emblematic of the “unravelling” of the global far right.

“It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the US. And it will soon happen in Spain,” said Sanchez, whose own premiership is at stake in snap elections he called for November 29 .

Sanchez said US voters had rejected policies that “only ‌‌impoverish”, as well as hate, sexism, climate change denialism and “the privileges of the elites”.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said US-Greek relations would not be affected by the election results.

“Greek-American relations will remain strong,” he told local media. “The United States is our strategic ally, and this will continue for major projects ⁠⁠and all major agreements. Nothing will be affected by this outcome. It is obvious that we respect every outcome. The conclusions are clear.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed the need to wait for the final results of US elections to come into focus, but noted that leaders in the US Democratic Party had a “sharply negative” approach to relations with Moscow.

Russia’s position on Ukraine and broader foreign policy “is not based on short-term considerations and, naturally, does not depend on the fluctuations of the political barometer in other countries,” Ryabkov was quoted by Russian state media as saying.

“We will continue our work in accordance with the directives of the President of the Russian Federation,” he added.

Kremlin spokesman ⁠Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped the US midterm results would not impact Trump’s “peacemaking efforts”.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing would continue its “constructive strategic relationship” with the US, stressing that US elections are a “domestic affair”.

“China is willing to work with the US to safeguard and implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen communication, properly manage differences and expand cooperation, build a constructive strategic relationship based on respect and equality,” Mao told reporters in Beijing.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said whatever the outcome of the US vote, “the Japan-US alliance the is the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign and security policy.”

“As the international situation becomes turbulent and increasingly uncertain, a strong Japan-US alliance is essential for maximising Japan’s national interests and for peace and stability in the international community,” Kihara said at a press briefing.

⁠President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has clashed with Trump over the US president’s promotion of debunked claims of a white genocide in South Africa, said the election marks “a new era in world relations”.

“We have seen that the ⁠⁠Democrats have taken ⁠⁠control of the Senate and of ⁠⁠the House, and ⁠⁠the ⁠⁠people of America have spoken,” Ramaphosa told ‌‌reporters.

伊朗首席谈判代表表示，美国选民发出了“反对战争”的信息，与此同时，特朗普的民主党对手控制了国会。

11月4日，在拉斯维加斯举行的选举之夜活动上，民主党州长候选人、内华达州总检察长亚伦·福特发表讲话，支持者们欢呼雀跃。[约翰·洛克/美联社照片]

美国民主党在中期选举中取得重大胜利，控制了国会两院，这对唐纳德·特朗普总统及其共和党来说是一次沉重的打击。

美国以外的各国领导人都在密切关注选举结果，思考华盛顿新的政治现实将如何影响美国的外交政策——从与伊朗的冲突到俄乌战争以及贸易关系。

民主党人塔拉里科将德克萨斯州参议院席位翻蓝后，三位共和党人怒不可遏，以下是其中之一。

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特朗普本人也承认，美以对伊朗的战争可能影响了其所在政党在选举中的糟糕表现，他说选民可能还没有准备好“应对汽油价格上涨带来的短期后果”。

随着民主党胜利的规模不断显现，以下是世界各国领导人的最新反应：

伊朗议会议长兼与美国谈判首席代表穆罕默德·巴格尔·加利巴夫表示，选民已经拒绝了冲突。

“美国人对战争说不，我们支持这一信息，”加利巴夫在 X 论坛上发帖写道。

“如果美国政府背叛公众意愿，为国际金主和勒索者服务，它就会明白，我们的‘不’会带来噩梦。”他补充道。

与此同时，伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊表示，华盛顿的党派变动不会改变美国对德黑兰的“敌意”。

哈梅内伊在伊朗国家媒体发布的一份声明中表示：“如果还有人抱有一丝希望，认为霸权体制的行为可以通过政党或派系的更迭而改变，或者认为向美国做出让步可以说服美国放弃对伊朗人民的敌意，那么他们就大错特错了。”

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡是特朗普的盟友，他所在的执政联盟在上周的选举中失去了在以色列议会的多数席位，但他本人尚未对此作出回应。

然而，反对派人士亚伊尔·戈兰（其所在政党正与其他政党组成联合政府，寻求取代内塔尼亚胡）表示，美国的投票结果揭示了“内塔尼亚胡在美国民主党人和共和党人中变得多么令人厌恶”。

他警告说，如果内塔尼亚胡及其极右翼政府继续掌权，以色列将“走上一条走向国际制裁、全球孤立以及与美国——我们最重要的朋友和盟友——对抗的道路”。

以色列反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德（Yair Lapid）也是反内塔尼亚胡联盟的成员，他表示，美国的投票实际上排除了“内塔尼亚胡领导的联合政府的任何可能性”。

欧洲议会副主席克里斯蒂尔·沙尔德莫斯表示，美国的选举结果让她“对欧洲抱有谨慎乐观的态度”。

Schaldemose 在 X 上的一篇帖子中写道：“这并非因为一切都会好转，而是因为它可能有利于对乌克兰的支持、绿色转型以及与世界其他地区的关系。”

“但欧盟必须继续走上更加强大、更加独立自主的道路。这一点毋庸置疑，”她补充道。

英国卫生大臣詹姆斯·弗里斯强调，尽管美国国内政治发生了明显的“巨大变化”，英国仍将与华盛顿保持稳定、牢固的关系。

弗里斯告诉英国媒体：“美国的权力中心经常发生变化。但与英国政府——美国最亲密的盟友——的关系支柱坚定不移，始终如一。”

“所以我并不认为这会改变我们关系的性质；我们的关系依然非常牢固，”他补充道。

法国财政部长罗兰·莱斯库尔表示，法国将拭目以待，看看仍然掌控美国外交政策的特朗普是否会调整其策略。

莱斯库尔在接受法国电视台采访时表示：“他要么选择置身事外——承认变革势在必行，尤其是在直接影响民众的汽油价格方面——而且，我还要补充一点，他还会减少在国际事务上的参与；要么他不会这样做。坦白说，这是我们未来几天需要密切关注的事情。”

左翼总理佩德罗·桑切斯表示，美国民主党的压倒性胜利象征着全球极右势力的“瓦解”。

“这在巴西发生了。这在美国刚刚发生。而且这很快也会在西班牙发生，”桑切斯说道，他自己的首相之位将在他呼吁于11月29日举行的提前选举中受到威胁。

桑切斯表示，美国选民已经拒绝了“只会使人贫困”的政策，以及仇恨、性别歧视、气候变化否认主义和“精英阶层的特权”。

政府发言人帕夫洛斯·马里纳基斯表示，美希关系不会受到选举结果的影响。

“希美关系将保持牢固，”他告诉当地媒体。“美国是我们的战略盟友，在重大项目和所有重要协议方面，这一立场将继续保持。这一结果不会对任何事情产生影响。我们尊重每一个结果，这一点毋庸置疑。结论很明确。”

外交部副部长谢尔盖·里亚布科夫强调，需要等待美国大选的最终结果明朗化，但他指出，美国民主党领导人对与莫斯科的关系持“非常消极”的态度。

据俄罗斯国家媒体报道，里亚布科夫表示，俄罗斯在乌克兰问题和更广泛的外交政策上的立场“并非基于短期考虑，自然也不会受到其他国家政治风向波动的影响”。

“我们将继续按照俄罗斯联邦总统的指示开展工作，”他补充道。

克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，莫斯科希望美国中期选举结果不会影响特朗普的“和平努力”。

外交部发言人毛宁表示，北京将继续保持与美国的“建设性战略关系”，并强调美国大选是“国内事务”。

毛泽东在北京对记者说：“中方愿同美方一道，维护和落实两国元首达成的重要共识，加强沟通，妥善管控分歧，扩大合作，构建在尊重和平等基础上的建设性战略关系。”

内阁官房长官木原稔表示，无论美国大选结果如何，“日美同盟都是日本外交和安全政策的基石”。

木原在新闻发布会上表示：“随着国际形势变得动荡不安，日美同盟对于最大限度地维护日本的国家利益以及国际社会的和平与稳定至关重要。”

曾因美国总统特朗普宣扬已被揭穿的南非白人种族灭绝的说法而与他发生冲突的南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨表示，此次选举标志着“世界关系的新时代”。

拉马福萨告诉记者：“我们已经看到民主党人控制了参议院和众议院，美国人民已经表达了他们的意愿。”