Senior Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov says the unprovoked military aggression against Iran significantly influenced domestic political developments in the US, describing the war as a consequence of a deliberate decision by the Trump administration.

“The unjustifiable aggression against Iran significantly influenced domestic developments in the US,” the permanent representative of Russia to international organizations in Vienna wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

“It was a free choice of the current US Administration,” he added.

His remarks came after US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the war was a major factor behind the Republican Party's defeat in the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote in a post on X.

He also acknowledged that a significant number of voters who had supported the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 switched their support to Democrats in the 2026 midterms.

Vance anticipated considerable debate within the Republican Party over the reasons for its electoral setback, while dismissing inadequate economic messaging as the principal explanation. “The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," Vance added, referring to the aggression.

The aggression has carried economic consequences for American households, with rising fuel prices and inflation intensifying cost-of-living concerns as Iran's control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to shipping through the waterway have significantly affected global oil prices.

Reuters-reported exit polls showed that approximately two-thirds of voters blamed Trump for high prices, while around three-quarters expressed anger or dissatisfaction with the country's direction.