Iran Denies Smuggling Weapons to Iraq, Afghanistan

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi dismissed as "ridiculous lies" U.S. claims that Tehran smuggled weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Saturday.

"The ridiculous and repeated lies of the Americans are aimed at justifying their own errors," General Vahidi was quoted as saying.

The Wall Street Journal on Friday quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps supplied allies in Iraq and Afghanistan with rocket-assisted exploding projectiles.

These weapons have already killed American troops, said the officials quoted by the newspaper.

Iran has also given long-range rockets to the Taliban in Afghanistan, increasing the insurgents' ability to hit U.S. and other coalition positions from a safer distance, the report said.