BBC
The US military has for the first time accused Iran of arming Sunni militants fighting in Iraq.
Sunni militants are being armed with Iranian-made munitions, US military spokesman Maj Gen William Caldwell told reporters in Baghdad.
These include mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.
There was no immediate reaction from the government in mainly Shia Iran which has been accused of arming fellow Shia militants in Iraq in the past.
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The BBC's Jim Muir says the Iraqi government is hoping a planned conference in Egypt next month will defuse tensions with its neighbours, and perhaps even start a reconciliation process between the Americans and Iran.
But now Iran is threatening to pull out of the talks, as they are demanding the release of five Iranian officials seized by the Americans from an office in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq in January, our correspondent says.
The US on Wednesday ruled out freeing the five, who it accuses of meddling in Iraqi affairs.
The White House also denied Iranian state television reports it tortured a diplomat held in custody for two months.
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