罗伯特门，美国国防部长，认为美国没有计划释放在伊拉克被抓住并且被指责支持反政府战斗机那里的五伊朗。

他也拒绝了猜想美国是及早在星期四带领伊朗释放15名英国的军人成交的一部分。

“我认为没有倾向现在让他们走”，给被告诉的记者装门在华盛顿，当询问五伊朗时，由美国部队在北伊拉克抓住于1月。

Washington has denied that it had been involved in any deal which offered concessions to Iran in return for the release of the 15 British servicemen, who were seized by Iranian troops near the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

George Bush, the US president, said on Tuesday that he agreed with Tony Blair, the British prime minister, “that there should be no quid pro quos when it comes to the hostages”.

Access considered

Gates, however, said that US and Iraqi officials were considering arranging for Iranian representatives to visit the captured men, whom Iran says are legitimate diplomats.

“Iraqi government officials and US officials are discussing if there’s some way, perhaps, that there could be some kind of Iranian access to them,” he said.

“But as far as I know, there’s no requirement for that.

“I don’t think that consular access is being considered. I think the issue is whether there’s some other means by which some other access might be given.”

Gates’s comments came after Major-General William Caldwell, a US military spokesman, told reporters in Baghdad that a consular request to visit the five Iranians was “being assessed”.

The five Iranians were arrested by US forces in the northern city of Irbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on January 11.

US officials accused the men of being members of the elite Al-Quds brigade of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and of helping organise attacks on US and Iraqi forces.

Washington and Tehran broke off diplomatic ties almost 27 years ago and US interests in Iran are conducted via Switzerland.

Agencies

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