Blair accuses Hizbullah of Iraq violence

Prime Minister Tony Blair pointed Thursday at Iran and Hizbullah as being possible providers of explosives used against coalition forces in Iraq.

New devices being used in Iraq "lead us either to Iranian elements or to Hizbullah," Blair said.

While he stressed that "we cannot be sure" about Iran's possible role, the British leader linked the issue to the diplomatic confrontation between Tehran and western nations over Iran's nuclear program.

"There is no justification for Iran or any other country interfering in Iraq," Blair said. "Neither will we be subject to any intimidation in raising the necessary and live issues to do with the nuclear weapons obligations of Iran under the Atomic Energy Agency treaty."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw later said that Britain hoped to resolve the issue.

"We look to the Iranian government to sit down with us, hear what we have to say and take action where appropriate," Straw told reporters.

Hizbullah denies accusation

Blair, speaking at a news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, appeared to back away slightly from the accusations against Iran made by a senior British official Wednesday.

"We know that the devices are of a similar nature to those used by Hizbullah, and there are certain pieces of information that lead us back to Iran," Blair said. "But I'm not saying any more than that - we cannot be sure of this."

"The particular nature of those devices lead us either to Iranian elements or to Hizbullah, because they are similar to the devices used by Hizbullah," he said. 

Hizbullah released a statement denying the accustaions.

"Hizbullah denies any connection with the events in southern Iraq, and reaffirms that British accusations of Hizbullah being the source of the explosives targeting the British occupation forces are lies," the group said.

"Hizbullah believes that the purpose of these British accusations is only to defend the inability of the occupation to face the growing resistance inside Iraq," the statement added.

Iran: Opposed to violence in Iraq 

Iran "categorically denied the strange accusation," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Thursday.

The agency said the Iranian Embassy in London "stressed that Iran has always maintained a status against aggressive moves in Iraq."

A senior British official first made the accusation against Iran at a briefing on Wednesday, saying Britain believes Iran's Revolutionary Guard is supplying explosive technology that has killed eight British soldiers in incidents over the summer.

The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said there was evidence that Iran was in contact with Sunni Muslim insurgent groups battling coalition troops in Iraq.