Iranian hardliners, leveraging Donald Trump's midterm election defeat, are demanding the U.S. pay a higher price, with their negotiating stance likely to harden further.

According to CNN, after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party suffered major losses in the U.S. midterm elections, Iranian hardliners believe the U.S. government, facing domestic political pressure, is seizing the opportunity to demand Washington pay a higher price before ending the Iran war, and oppose Iran’s negotiating team making concessions to the U.S. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned this week that no sign of submission should be shown. Iranian hardline media outlets have called for continued pressure on the U.S., arguing that Trump should not be allowed to end the war easily through a hastily reached deal. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance previously acknowledged that one of the reasons for the Republican Party’s election losses was the Iran war. An Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group noted that the election results may further harden Tehran’s negotiating position, making it less willing to make concessions to the U.S. on its nuclear program. Iran previously put forward seven conditions, including ending the war on all fronts, receiving reparations, U.S. troop withdrawal, and lifting sanctions, and has demanded that the Strait of Hormuz only be opened after these conditions are met. While Iranian hardliners publicly advocate for continued confrontation, analysts believe Iran’s leadership still hopes to end the war through negotiations while retaining stronger regional deterrence and strategic leverage. As military operations on both sides remain deadlocked and negotiations have made limited progress, the risk of renewed conflict escalation persists.