Iranian nationals detained by US in Iraq: report

NEW YORK: The American military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men Bush administration called senior military officials, who were seized in a pair of raids late last week.

The raids were aimed at people suspected of conducting attacks on Iraqi security forces.

The Bush administration has made no public announcement of the politically delicate seizure of the Iranians, though in response to specific questions the White House confirmed yesterday that the Iranians were in custody, the New York Times reported.

Gordon D Johndroe, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said two Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids.

The two had papers showing that they were accredited to work in Iraq. The spokesman said they were turned over to the Iraqi authorities and released.

He confirmed that a group of other Iranians, including the military officials, remained in custody while an investigation continued.

"We continue to work with the government of Iraq on the status of the detainees."

The paper said it was unclear what kind of evidence American officials possessed that the Iranians were planning attacks, and the officials would not identify those being held.

One official said that "a lot of material" was seized in the raid, but would not say if it included arms or documents that pointed to planning for attacks. Much of the material was still being examined, the official said.

The debate about what to do next has also engaged officials in the White House and the State Department.

National security adviser, Stephen J Hadley, has been fully briefed, officials said, though they would not say what Bush has been told about the seizure or the identity of the detainees.

A senior Western official in Baghdad was quoted as saying that the raids were conducted after American officials received information that the people detained had been involved in attacks on official security forces in Iraq.

"We conduct operations against those who threaten Iraqi and coalition forces," the official was quoted by the paper.

The raids and arrests, the Times said, were confirmed by at least seven officials and politicians in Baghdad and Washington.

In Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, had no comment about the case other than to say it was under examination, the paper said.

The action, the Times said, comes at time of extraordinary tension in the three-way relationship between the United States, Iran and Iraq.

On Saturday, even as American officials were trying to determine the identity of some of the Iranians, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution imposing mild sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

A Bush administration official was quoted as saying the Iranian military officials held in custody were suspected of being members of the Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. It has been involved in training members of Hezbollah and other groups.