Iran accuses US provoking tensions with rebels along borders

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said it killed 17 rebels in northwestern Iran on the border with Turkey and quickly accused the United States and its allies of seeking to provoke tensions along the country's borders.

The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Saturday that 17 "counter-revolutionary mercenaries" were killed but did not name a specific Iranian opposition group or provide more details about the incident. The Kurdish opposition group PEJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) has been involved in sporadic armed clashes with Iranian forces in the past two years. (AP)