Iran:Iran yesterday rejected US accusations that it was fomenting instability in Iraq, a day after the US president George Bush said Tehran's atomic ambitions could put the Middle East "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust".
The two states are embroiled in a standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at developing weapons, but the Islamic state says is peaceful.
In a further sign of growing tension, US forces in Iraq said they had detained eight Iranians overnight and seized a suitcase of money from their Baghdad hotel but later freed them after consultations with the Iraqi government.
Iran's foreign ministry reacted angrily to the incident, summoning the Swiss charge d'affaires to voice "harsh objections", Iranian state television said.
A media adviser to Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki said the men had been members of an Iranian delegation invited to Iraq by the Ministry of Electricity to discuss constructing a power plant.
The US severed ties with Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, and the Swiss embassy represents its interests in the country.
US officials have often accused Iran of supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq but, in a speech on Tuesday, Mr Bush hardened his stance by lumping Tehran and al-Qaeda together: "Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism."
With 164,000 US troops in Iraq and patience growing thin in the Democratic-controlled US Congress and among the American public, Mr Bush has been defending his Iraq war strategy.
A report by the US commander on the ground in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, due by September 15th, could trigger a change in Iraq policy.
The UN Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran since December, over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work. Washington has made clear it will be pushing for more punitive measures against Tehran.
Asked about the US accusations, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said: "They are not true."Mohammad Ali Hosseini did not specifically comment on Mr Bush's remarks on the nuclear issue, but Iran has repeatedly said its activities are solely aimed at generating electricity.
Mr Hosseini said the US path was neither "useful or fruitful", adding: "It is better for him [Mr Bush] to change his point of view and political decisions."
Meanwhile, Tehran yesterday freed one of three journalists accused of publishing "lies" about the ruling system in the Islamic republic, after his family paid bail of 500 million rials (€40,000).
Farshad Gorbanpour, who worked for a pro-reform daily shut down in July, told the Isna news agency he was released on Sunday from Tehran's Evin prison. Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders earlier this month said Mr Gorbanpour and fellow journalist Masoud Bastani were detained on July 31st, followed by Soheil Assefi on August 4th, and called for their release. The Iranian judiciary said they were accused of "publishing false statements and lies against the system". A judicial source earlier said Mr Bastani had already been released, but that he could be called in for further questioning.
Isna said Mr Gorbanpour worked for the Ham Mihan daily, shut on a technicality, according to its publisher. A few weeks later, another pro-reform daily, Sharq, was closed down.
- (Reuters)