CHICAGO – The primary election that was expected to launch a political battle in President Barack Obama's home state instead left Democrats and Republicans squabbling amongst themselves Wednesday over governor's races that were virtually tied.

Gov. Pat Quinn claimed victory in the Democratic primary over Comptroller Dan Hynes, despite a margin of less than 1 percent. Though Obama called Quinn to offer his congratulations, Hynes has refused to concede.

"It's time to end the fighting," Quinn said as he thanked voters at a Chicago train station. "I don't believe we are benefiting in Illinois, certainly in the Democratic party, by having fighting."

On the Republican side, Sen. Bill Brady led by just a few hundred votes over Sen. Kirk Dillard. Dillard said a victory by Brady, a downstate conservative with little support in the Chicago area, would hurt the GOP's chances of reclaiming the governor's office.

"If he's the nominee, he'll have a much, much more difficult time than me beating Pat Quinn," Dillard said Wednesday at a Republican "unity" breakfast.

Illinois Republicans hope to capture the governor's post as well as Obama's former Senate seat by exploiting Democratic turmoil and scandal, including the arrest and ouster of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. GOP victories in an increasingly Democratic state would be another blow to Obama, already stinging from the Republican victory in a Massachusetts special election for Edward Kennedy's former Senate seat.

The Senate primary produced no surprises. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, an Obama friend and former banker, captured the Democratic nomination. Five-term U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk was the Republican pick.

For governor, it was a different story.

One or both of the races could wind up going to a recount. Illinois law doesn't require recounts in close races, so the candidates would have to decide whether to request one and cover the costs.

Quinn is trying to win the governor's office on his own merits after inheriting it a year ago when Blagojevich was ousted, partly over allegations that he tried to sell Obama's former Senate seat.

Two months ago, Quinn appeared set to easily win the nomination. But he was weighed down by the baggage of his two campaigns with Blagojevich, his support for a major tax increase and a botched program that granted early release to some violent prison inmates.

The race became a dead heat with Hynes, and the two traded bitter accusations of incompetence and dirty campaign tactics.

Hynes campaign manager Michael Rendina said the nomination could hinge on how many absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted.

Absentee ballots can trickle in for the next two weeks. In addition, Illinois lets people vote despite questions about their registration status; now officials must decide which of those provisional ballots are valid. In some cases, ballots weren't automatically recorded and must be counted by hand.

"What's important now is that everyone take a deep breath and make sure every vote is counted," Rendina said. "There's no hurry."

Quinn stopped short of asking Hynes to concede, saying that's up to the comptroller. He also said he had no preference on an opponent in November and called Brady and Dillard "nice guys."

Dillard, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, has positioned himself as a pragmatist who can get things done in an often-paralyzed state Capitol. Brady focuses more on his conservative credentials and absolute opposition to raising taxes to bail out a state government facing the worst budget crisis in its history.

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran said on Wednesday it had launched a Kavoshgar-3 rocket capable of carrying a satellite, a move Washington described as a "provocative act."

Western powers fear Iran is trying to build nuclear bombs and that the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit can also be used to launch warheads. Iran says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the launch was a huge breakthrough which would help break "the global domineering system" -- a reference to Iran's Western foes.

"A launch like that is obviously a provocative act," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters.

"But the president believes that it is not too late for Iran to do the right thing -- come to the table with the international community and live up to its international obligations."

France, which together with the United States, Britain and Germany is discussing a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, said it would press for strong measures against Tehran at the United Nations, with time running out for a political solution.

"We are going to seek the adoption of a new resolution at the United Nations incorporating strong sanctions," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said.

On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad had struck a more conciliatory note, saying Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in what appeared to be an easing of its position in the dispute.

Speaking at a ceremony unveiling satellite technology, Ahmadinejad said Iran hoped to send astronauts into space soon.

State Press TV showed a rocket blasting off from a desert launchpad leaving a thick vapor trail. The home-built Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carried "living organisms," it said.

ISNA news agency said the capsule successfully returned to earth with its "passengers" -- a mouse, worms and two turtles.

"NOT A THREAT"

Mark Fitzpatrick at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies said the launch was one of a series and not particularly more significant than others.

"They contribute to Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, but do not foretell an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) capability or anything else capable of threatening Western Europe or the U.S. homeland," Fitzpatrick said.

Western counter-proliferation sources also said the Kavoshgar-3 was not a military system and was not a threat.

The rocket, propelled by liquid fuel, was a testing device for space systems that normally rises about 100 km (60 miles) above the surface of the earth before returning on a parachute.

In May 2009, a U.S.-Russia assessment estimated Iran was six to eight years away from producing a ballistic missile able to deliver a 1,000 kg nuclear warhead to a range of 2,000 km.

On Monday, a Pentagon report said Iran had expanded its ballistic missile capabilities and posed a significant threat to U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East region.

In December, Iran said it test-fired a long-range, upgraded Sejil 2 missile. Britain said at the time the launch was of serious concern and underlined the case for tougher sanctions.

The Iranian president made no mention of the nuclear row at the aerospace event.

Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran was ready to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel. He appeared for the first time to drop Tehran's long-standing conditions on a deal with global powers.

BUYING TIME?

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking in Turkey on Wednesday, said Tehran was considering the swap option.

"The swap formula is a more confidence-inspiring formula compared to other formulas. For that reason, we have to keep that formula on the table," he told a news conference in Ankara.

He said Iran was in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Russia, France and the United States in Vienna.

The United States said that if Iran was serious it should tell the IAEA. Russia said it would welcome an Iranian decision on enrichment and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Iran must make real concessions and not just talk about them.

"If that doesn't happen and it's all just tactics, the international community will agree on further measures. Then sanctions cannot be ruled out," he told N-24 television.

Analysts believe that because of the threat of sanctions, Iran is trying to buy time to evade more domestic pressure. Ahmadinejad has been in favor of the deal because he wanted to win some legitimacy following last year's disputed presidential elections that have triggered anti-government protests.

"Ahmadinejad wanted a deal, wanted some sort of agreement with the international community, especially with the United States, because it is clear he thought he would be able to use a foreign policy success to enhance his domestic standing," Volker Perthes, director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

"The deal is not struck just because the president says Iran is ready for a deal ... This is simply a sign that Iran is ready to come back to the negotiating table."  (what? this is how they want to 'make a deal' We better start looking at actions done, not words said)

U.S. General David Petraeus told Reuters this week any military strike on Iran to quash its nuclear ambitions could have the unintended consequence of stirring nationalist sentiment to the benefit of Ahmadinejad's government.

(Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb and Fredrik Dahl in Tehran, Mark Heinrich in Vienna, Deborah Charles in Washington, and Dave Graham in Berlin; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Charles Dick)

*And Obama made it happen - not peace but an open door to the terrorists. by the time it's figured out, imagine what he can do.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said on Tuesday that it was ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the U.N.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the decision in an interview with state Iranian television.

He said Iran will have "no problem" giving the West its low-enriched uranium and taking it back several months later when it is enriched by 20 percent.

The U.S. said it was ready to listen if Iran was proposing a new offer to the nuclear impasse.

Iran's decision could signal a major shift in its position on the issue.

Still, it was unclear how much of a concession the Ahmadinejad comments represented, even though he appeared to be saying for the first time that Iran was willing to ship out its enriched uranium and wait for it to be returned in the form of fuel for its Tehran research reactor.

But his time frame of four or five months appeared to fall short of the year that Western officials say it would take for Iran's enriched fuel to be turned into fuel rods for the reactor.

If that difference cannot be bridged, it could allow Iranian officials to assert that the deal failed due to Western foot-dragging, despite their readiness to accept the proposed formula of shipping out the bulk of their enriched uranium and waiting for it to be converted and returned as fuel.

Iran's key political players A look who's who on Iran's political scene

Curry’s extended interview with Ahmadinejad Sept. 18: Watch TODAY’s Ann Curry’s exclusive interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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