Britain accused of backing Iranian terror group

Iran accused Britain and other Western nations including France and Sweden of supporting an exiled group that the Islamic state says planned terrorist acts in the country.

"The Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to express its harsh criticism over backing of his country and some other Western states of the group that wanted to carry out terrorist acts in the country," Irna news agency said. The Intelligence Minister, Heidar Moslehi, also named Sweden and France.

In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman dismissed the accusations. "We made clear we condemn all terrorism everywhere," she said. "The Government firmly rejects any allegation of British involvement in any such activity."

Iran earlier said it had arrested members of an exiled opposition group who planned to carry out "terrorist activities" in Tehran on the first anniversary of the country's disputed presidential election on 12 June. The report said members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organisation (MKO) were arrested before they could carry out their plans to detonate bombs in "a few squares in Tehran".

The group denied its members had been arrested, saying that "by falsely alleging that those arrested had gone from Iraq to Iran, the establishment was setting the stage for launching an attack on Camp Ashraf" in Iraq, home to several thousand members of the group.