Day 251 brief — Democrats take both houses of Congress, Brent falls below $95, and Tehran's leader says concessions were a mistake

Republicans lost both houses of Congress in Tuesday's midterms, and the war on Iran was part of the reason by the President's own account. AFP, via The Peninsula, reported Democrats seized the House and flipped Senate seats in at least six states, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina; the Associated Press projected at least seven Senate flips. Donald Trump congratulated the Democrats and told Fox News that "a part of it was Iran." A war-powers resolution that failed 49 to 50 in September is now expected to pass once the new Congress sits on 3 January, though a veto would still need two-thirds to override. Markets read the vote as a push toward a deal: Trading Economics put Brent at about $94.89 on Wednesday, down 8.7% on the day, while hormuz.now counted three AIS-visible tanker crossings a day against 47.6 before the war. Tehran read it as vindication. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written message, said those who thought concessions could persuade Washington were gravely mistaken and warned of a response on a much greater scale to any renewed attack; Speaker Qalibaf wrote that Americans said no to war. The Qatari track produced a claim but no text: anonymous sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed the United States approved a Qatari draft memorandum, while Qatar's Majed Al Ansari said no particular development could be discussed. At sea, a Pakistani navigational warning reports the UAE-owned tug Selat Storm sunk off Musandam. Israel's President Herzog accepted the certified election results and began consultations. Direction stays mixed; the probability rises one point to 10 on the political-will clock, not the draft.