Iraq denies arrests of Iranians

BAGHDAD, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government denied local media reports that three men working for the Interior Ministry arrested as insurgents were Iranian citizens.

The ministry's chief of operations, Maj. Gen. Abdel-Karim Khalaf, told Kuwait's KUNA news agency the unidentified men arrested by U.S. forces Monday in Baghdad would be freed and were not Iranian.

"I dismiss that the three persons ... may hold Iranian nationality," he said. "It is their right as Iraqis to go wherever they want."

The U.S. Bush administration and military has claimed for more than a year Iran has been providing arms and training to insurgents in Iraq, allegations Tehran has denied.