We prefer Obama for US Prez: Iran Speaker

Manama, Oct. 22: Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Thursday that Tehran would prefer Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama in the White House in year 2009, and also ruled out any US attack on his country.

"We are leaning more in favour of Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational, even though we know American policy will not change that much," Mr Larijani said at a press conference during a visit to Bahrain.

How to deal with Iran and the crisis over its nuclear drive has been one of the foreign policy issues in the November 4 race for the White House between Mr Obama and his Republican rival John McCain.

Mr Larijani, a leading figure in the Conservative camp in the Islamic republic, also said the United States was too busy dealing with the global financial crisis to consider waging an attack on its arch foe.

"The risk was low before," he said. "But now I am 100 per cent certain that the United States will not unleash a war against Iran. The economic crisis has cost the United States $1,400 billion and Washington is working to resolve its internal problems and not a war."

Washington severed ties with Iran in 1980 in the wake of the Islamic revolution and US President George W. Bush famously denounced the country as part of an "axis of evil".

Tensions have mounted over Iran’s nuclear programme which many Western countries believe is a cover for ambitions to build atomic weapons although this is vehemently denied by Tehran.

—AFP