TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Iran Monday claimed it was not giving aid to anti-American insurgents in Iraq.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini denied U.S. government statements that Iran had been providing weapons and weapons-making expertise expertise to militia groups operating in Iraq. He claimed Washington had "good experience in fabricating evidence" and described the accusations as groundless and inadmissible, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
RIA Novosti noted that senior American officials have stated that at least 170 U.S. troops serving in Iraq had been killed since June 2004 by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that were made in Iran or with Iranian help. Some of the devices have been powerful enough to destroy M-1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, the RIA Novosti report said.
U.S. relations with Iran have steadily grown more tense in recent months, especially over Iran's refusal to heed United Nations Resolution 1737 passed on Dec. 23, and abandon its nuclear ambitions. U.S. President George W. Bush has given approval to American forces in Iraq "to kill or capture Iranian agents suspected of abetting the insurgency there," the news agency said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has stated that Washington has documented Iran's significant weapons supplies and other support to Shiite militias in Iraq.
