US, Iran rhetoric must die down to avoid conflict

Early results in Friday parliamentary runoff elections in Iran put the conservative rivals of President Ahmadinejad ahead of his more moderate supporters. Such a political landscape in the country will let the radical clerical elite pull the strings in foreign policy and - most importantly - Tehran's controversial nuclear program. And while the international community gauges the possible consequences of this election, experts stress the necessity of settling the nuclear issue before it's too late.

Jamal Abdi, from the National Iranian American Council, believes that threatening political rhetoric, serves only to push both US and Iran towards a military escalation.