Iran: Republican losses reduce chances of clash with US

Iranian opinion-makers today welcomed the resignation of the US secretary of defence and the Republican Party's losses in Congress, saying the two events could reduce the chances of a confrontation with the United States over Iran's contentious nuclear programme.

The new Democratic majority in Congress will choose to negotiate with Iran, said a liberal political scientist at Tehran University.

State radio was particularly sharp in its view of the ousted defence secretary, saying Donald Rumsfeld had been a "symbol of stupidity and unilateralism" and his downfall reflected "America's defeat in Iraq, the end of the era of neo-conservatives and the failure of America's war policy - of which Rumsfeld was the architect."

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the Republicans' electoral defeat "might soften the US warmongering policy in the region".

In the elections, the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives and, by unofficial count, the Senate as well.

"It is possible that the United States will behave in a wiser manner and will not pit itself against Iran," said Larijani, who is known to be close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The United States is currently pushing for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to cease uranium enrichment - a process that can produce material for atomic bombs or nuclear reactors - and it also accuses Iran of aiding the insurgency in Iraq.

"Rumsfeld's departure has greatly reduced the chance of a confrontation," said Nasser Hadian, a well-known analyst and professor of politics at Tehran University.

The appointment of Robert Gates as the new U.S. defence secretary was a "positive sign for reducing tensions" between Iran and the United States, Hadian added.

A second commentator, Yadollah Eslami, said the American voters had rejected Rumsfeld's "war mentality," and his departure would change the tone of US policy toward Iran.

"The Democrats will do their best to resolve Iran's nuclear issue through negotiations rather than resorting to big threats, as Rumsfeld and other neo-conservatives did," said Eslami who belongs to the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Iran's largest reformist party, and teaches politics at Tehran University.

The hard-line newspaper Kayhan said that President George Bush would not contemplate further military campaigns abroad because he will now be embroiled in fighting the Democratic majority in Congress.

"The victory of the Democrats means the Bush administration will be forced to tread cautiously, instead of waging war around the globe," Kayhan said in an editorial.