WASHINGTON, June 26: The US media responded cautiously to the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the new Iranian president, focusing mainly on how he would tackle the key issues of nuclear proliferation and Iran’s relations with the United States.

The Washington Post noted that with the election of a politician who is relatively unknown to the outside world the US and its European allies are bracing for a tough new opponent in Iran.

Mr Ahmadinejad’s “upset victory … has alarmed US and European officials over issues including the future of Iraq, the Middle East peace efforts and the impact on oil markets. Any prospect of ending more than a quarter of a century of tensions with Iran is also unlikely after Mr Ahmadinejad begins his four-year term this summer,” says the newspaper quoting senior US officials.

“For the international community, the most urgent issue is a permanent deal to ensure that Iran cannot use its peaceful energy programme to develop a nuclear weapon,” the Post said.

Quoting Anthony H. Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the paper said: “Mr Ahmadinejad appears to have a much more serious ideological and moral opposition to Israel” than his predecessors, There is a “higher risk” of Iranian action in Iraq — and, thus, of confrontation with the United States.”

Shaul Bakhash, a George Mason University professor and author of “The Reign of the Ayatollahs,” told the Post: “Ahmadinejad said he would follow the lead of the Supreme Leader on foreign policy. But his election will strengthen the voice of those in parliament and among Iran’s conservatives who are opposed to a flexible posture … and are against a deal that would surrender Iran’s right to a fuel cycle.”

The New York Times pointed out that Iran’s leading reformists seemed stunned by Mr Ahmadinejad’s victory. The newspaper quoted Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and chief aide to the departing president, as saying in an analysis posted on his blog that Mr Ahmadinejad won in part because of missteps by reformists, from offering unrealistic campaign promises to losing touch with average people.