The Republicans' heavy defeat in the US midterms is changing calculations in Iran, Israel and Ukraine. Taiwan's Liberty Times on Wednesday pulled together reactions and expert analysis.
Citing CNN, the Liberty Times reported that Tehran reads the Republican loss as a referendum-style punishment by American voters for war-driven price rises in the eight-month Iran war. Iran is preparing for both a new and fiercer US strike and a revival of ceasefire talks, and diplomatic mediation is said to have resumed in Qatar.
광고 문의 · 300×250Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, warned that the most dangerous scenario is a president weakened at the ballot box seeking redemption on the battlefield. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei stressed that believing US policy will change because of the election would be a grave mistake. The report also recalled Iran's pre-election offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days.
Israel on a ‘Level 5 alert’
According to the article, Trump announced on election day that he would cut military aid to Israel, and the result was described as a Level 5 alert for Israel. Former ambassador to Washington Michael Oren said the only issue with bipartisan consensus in the US now is criticism of Israel, adding that an era is ending.
Oren feared that halting aid is only the start and could extend to ending intelligence sharing, stopping joint development of the Iron Dome, and even no longer using the US veto at the UN Security Council. Former Jerusalem Post editor Yaakov Katz predicted arms embargoes, economic sanctions and isolation in UN procedures. All of these are forecasts by individuals quoted in the article.
Ukraine and Russia's calculus
Ukraine has been relatively quiet. Aides to President Zelensky said Kyiv will work for a stable relationship with the new Congress and keep pressing for Patriot air-defense systems. Relations between Zelensky and Trump have sharply worsened in recent months, and Trump once demanded his replacement, so Kyiv is waiting for a post-Trump era, the report said.
Analysts see the biggest risk in Russian President Vladimir Putin possibly judging he has about a year left to make maximum battlefield gains, since by 2028 Republican policy may be forced back toward the mainstream of supporting Ukraine. The Liberty Times noted that all of this reflects the article and its quoted sources and has not been verified elsewhere.