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Iran rejects Canadian terrorist claim

LONDON, April 23 (UPI) -- Iranian officials said they reject Canadian police claims a planned terrorist attack to derail a passenger train was linked to an al-Qaida ring in Iran.

Ramin Mehmanparast, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a London news conference Tuesday there was no evidence to support the claim and accused Canada of hostility toward Iran, The New York Times reported.

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"The Islamic Republic of Iran is the biggest victim of terrorism, but the extremist administration of Canada has put 'Iranophobia' on its agenda [in] recent years," he said.

The comments come after two men, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, were arrested Monday for allegedly plotting to attack a train operated by Via Rail Canada, officials said.

Canadian police said Monday there was no indication Iran sponsored the plan but said the suspects received direction from al-Qaida elements in Iran.

Officials did not say how the link to al-Qaida had been made, the Times said.

Authorities declined to identify the suspects' nationalities or describe their immigration status.

Canada broke diplomatic relations with Iran in September as a result of several issues, including Iran's nuclear program, the Times reported.

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