Iran's Mohsen Rezai claims a double 'defeat' for Trump after US midterms

Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has claimed that Iran defeated US President Donald Trump both in the war between the two countries and in American domestic politics. The Times of Israel reported that Rezai made the claim in a post on X following the US midterm elections, in which, according to the paper, Trump's Republican Party lost heavily and gave up control of Congress.

In the post, Rezai wrote that the Iranian nation had dealt Trump a "strategic defeat" through military action and at Hormuz, while the setback he said Trump suffered at home was political, a word he wrote in capital letters. The Israeli Hebrew-language outlet News.co.il reported that Rezai also issued a warning: that any party trying to confront the Islamic Republic would pay a heavy price, which he described as reaching from the front line to that party's own doorstep.

Who Mohsen Rezai is

Rezai holds the post of secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, which The Times of Israel described as making him Iran's top security chief. The council is the body in the Islamic Republic's system that brings together senior political, military and intelligence figures to set national defence and security policy, so statements from its secretary are generally read as reflecting the thinking of Iran's security establishment rather than an individual view.

The Israeli news site Ynet, in a brief alert, attributed a similar statement to an unnamed senior Iranian figure. According to Ynet's alert, the official said Iran had defeated Trump on the battlefield, in Hormuz and in Washington.

The Strait of Hormuz

Rezai's reference to Hormuz points to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. It is one of the world's most important routes for oil and gas shipments, and control of passage through it has long been a central lever in Iran's confrontations with the United States. The reports do not explain what specific events in the strait Rezai was referring to.

The US political backdrop

Rezai linked his military claims to the outcome of the American midterm vote. The Times of Israel characterised the war as one between Washington and Tehran and said the Republicans had suffered heavy losses and lost Congress. On the same day, the paper's live coverage also carried two related items: that the US Treasury had announced new sanctions connected to Iran, and that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had said the Senate could use its "power of the purse" to halt the war with Iran. Congress controls federal spending, which gives lawmakers a potential tool to restrict funding for military operations.

Rezai's message, as relayed by News.co.il, framed the confrontation as costly for Americans themselves. The outlet reported him saying that both the American public and the US administration were carrying heavy costs from Washington's policy of confrontation with Tehran.

How the reports differ

The three reports agree on the core claim of a defeat inflicted on Trump, but they differ in detail. The Times of Israel quoted Rezai separating a strategic loss, on the battlefield and at Hormuz, from a political loss in the US capital. Ynet's alert grouped the battlefield, Hormuz and Washington together without that distinction and did not name the official. Only News.co.il reported the threat against those who confront Iran and the remarks about costs borne by the American public; the other two reports do not mention them. It is not clear from the material whether the warning came in the same post on X or in a separate statement.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports carries a response from the White House, the Trump administration or Israeli officials to Rezai's remarks. The reports also do not specify who Rezai meant by those who might confront Iran, or what form the threatened price would take. Rezai's claims of military and strategic victory are his own assertions, and none of the reports offers evidence supporting or disputing them.