Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said U.S. midterm results showed Americans had said no to war, BBC reported Wednesday¹.

BBC said the comment came as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, with two still burning and two additional tankers seized, according to Tasnim¹. BBC said it had not independently verified the IRGC account¹.

Ghalibaf wrote that whether from conscience or the cost of living, Americans had said no to war, and he warned Washington not to betray that public will, BBC reported¹. In parliament on Tuesday he said Iran would not surrender and that responsibility to prevent a wider war lay with the United States¹.

President Donald Trump acknowledged poor Republican results were partly tied to the Iran conflict and higher gasoline prices but said he did not regret launching it, and told CBS News the fighting would end when he says it ends, BBC reported¹.

Al-Monitor, in earlier reporting, said Iranian officials warned that a renewed war could last longer than the previous round after Trump spoke of remaining targets². Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said an American president would not dictate the timing or conditions of any new conflict’s end, according to Iranian state television cited by Al-Monitor².

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government had been trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue, BBC reported¹. Al-Monitor cited Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying Iran remained prepared for both defense and diplomacy². BBC said talks to end a conflict that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes in February have been stalled for months¹.