Iran uncovers 'US-backed' coup plot

Iran has arrested four Iranians accused of involvement in a US-financed plot aimed at toppling its Islamic system of government, the judiciary said yesterday.

The announcement came a week before the inauguration of Barack Obama as US President. In a shift from George W. Bush's approach, he has pledged to increase diplomatic efforts to engage Iran and talk directly to its leaders.

The US, which cut ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution, accuses Teheran of seeking to build nuclear bombs. Iranian officials deny the charge, saying the nuclear programme is for electricity production.

Iran often accuses the West of seeking to undermine the Islamic state through a "soft" or "velvet revolution" with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country.

The New York Times on Saturday said Mr Bush had deflected an Israeli request last year for bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran's nuclear complex, saying he had authorised covert action to sabotage its suspected atomic arms development.

Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said the accused, who he said were financed by the US government and Congress, were arrested in Tehran and their verdicts would be announced soon.

"The news whose details will be announced either today or tomorrow is in connection to a soft network whose intent was to topple (the Islamic system), with US government funding," Mr Jamshidi told a news conference.

"One of the goals these individuals were pursuing in Iran was to set up a network to topple the Islamic establishment, all of whose operators have been arrested," he said.

Mr Jamshidi said the group, whom he did not identify, had tried to recruit other people in Iran and train them both in and outside the country in techniques for undermining the system. He did not provide details.