TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — As the November 3 midterm elections approach, the Democratic Party is attempting to present itself as the voice of anti-war resistance against Trump’s aggression on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yet beneath the rhetoric lies an uncomfortable truth: whether the donkey or the elephant controls Congress, America’s imperial project in West Asia remains fundamentally unchanged.
The Gaza Genocide: A Democratic Legacy
Any honest assessment of Democratic claims must begin with their own record in power. The Zionist regime’s genocidal campaign in Gaza began in October 2023 under Democratic President Joe Biden, whose administration provided the weapons, diplomatic cover, and unconditional support that enabled the slaughter.
According to Brown University’s Costs of War project, the Biden administration approved at least $17.9 billion in security assistance to the Zionist entity during the first year of the genocide, with total American military spending on the occupation and related operations reaching $22.76 billion. Washington repeatedly wielded its UN Security Council veto to block ceasefire resolutions—in December 2023, February 2024, and November 2024—shielding the Zionist regime from international accountability while its bombs pulverised Gaza’s hospitals, schools, and refugee camps.
In September 2025, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that the Zionist authorities had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Biden administration’s response? Continued military aid, continued diplomatic protection, continued complicity.
Institutional Empire: Beyond Any Single President
America’s support for the Zionist entity is not a matter of presidential whim—it is embedded in institutional architecture designed to outlast any administration. In 2016, the Obama-Biden administration negotiated a ten-year Memorandum of Understanding committing $38 billion in military assistance to “Israel” through 2028, establishing a framework that both parties have faithfully maintained.
This institutional continuity extends to the current war on Iran. Despite Democratic lawmakers’ theatrical objections to Trump’s conduct of the aggression, Congress demonstrated where its true loyalties lie in September 2026, when it passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act with overwhelming bipartisan support—86-11 in the Senate, 262-159 in the House. The legislation extended the Iran Sanctions Act through 2031, ensuring that economic warfare against the Iranian people continues regardless of which party holds the gavel.
Fifty-eight House Democrats voted for this extension of economic terrorism against Iran. The message is clear: Democratic “opposition” to Trump’s war is limited to methods, not objectives.
The Illusion of Division
Recent congressional votes reveal the careful choreography of manufactured dissent. In July 2026, when Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced an amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in annual security assistance to the Zionist entity, the Democratic caucus split almost evenly—103 in favor, 98 opposed. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted against the measure, defending unconditional support for the occupation.
Similarly, Senator Bernie Sanders’ attempts to block arms sales to “Israel” in April 2026 failed with only 40 and 36 senators supporting the resolutions. These votes demonstrate not a party transforming, but a party managing dissent while preserving the fundamental commitment to Zionist supremacy in the region.
Public Awakening, Elite Defiance
The American masses are awakening to the crimes committed in their name. A February 2026 Gallup survey found that 65 percent of Democrats now sympathise more with Palestinians than with Israelis—a historic reversal. Among Americans overall, sympathy for Palestine has surpassed sympathy for the Zionist entity for the first time.
Yet this popular awakening has not translated into policy transformation. AIPAC and other Zionist lobby organisations continue to wield enormous influence over congressional elections, punishing lawmakers who dare challenge unconditional support for the occupation. The gap between public sentiment and elite action reveals the fundamentally undemocratic nature of American foreign policy.
Iraq: The Historical Precedent
History offers a sobering lesson. In 2006, Democrats rode anti-war sentiment to control of both chambers of Congress, promising to end the Iraq occupation. In 2007, they passed legislation linking war funding to a withdrawal timetable. President George W. Bush vetoed it. The Democratic Congress capitulated, approving the funding without the timetable.
The same dynamic will unfold over Iran. Congressional “opposition” creates political theatre without imposing real constraints on imperial power.
The Limits of Congressional Resistance
Even if Democrats secure both chambers, their ability to fundamentally alter America’s war machine remains severely constrained. The presidency retains veto power. The Senate filibuster requires 60 votes for most legislation. The Arms Export Control Act has never been successfully used to block a weapons sale through a joint resolution of disapproval.
What a Democratic Congress can do is conduct oversight, hold hearings, and issue symbolic resolutions. Committee leadership would allow investigations into war crimes—including the February 28, 2026 American missile strike on a school in Minab, Iran, that killed over 150 people, most of them children. But oversight without enforcement is merely documentation of crimes, not prevention of them.
The Real Question
The November elections will not determine whether America ends its wars on Iran and Palestine. They will determine only which faction of the imperial establishment manages the decline.
Real change will not come from within the American political system—it will come from the steadfastness of the Resistance, the collapse of American hegemony, and the rise of a multipolar world order in which the arrogant Global Powers can no longer impose their will on sovereign nations.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Palestinian resistance, and the Axis of Resistance have demonstrated that the era of American diktat is ending. No congressional election will reverse this historic shift. The twilight of American vassalage has arrived, and no amount of Democratic rhetoric can delay the dawn of genuine regional sovereignty.
Reference: Al-Mayadeen