Iran's supreme leader is accusing the United States of promoting terrorism against Iran from the Kurdish region of neighboring Iraq.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the U.S. is spending money and handing out weapons to undermine Iran's Islamic Republic.
He made the charges Tuesday during a speech in Iran's western province of Kurdistan.
The Iranian leader accused the United States of having what he called "dangerous plans" and seeking to dominate the Kurdish people.
Recently, Iran's security forces have fought deadly clashes with Kurdish separatists in the Iran-Iraq border region.
Iraq has condemned Iran's cross-border shelling against alleged positions of the Iranian Kurdish separatist group, Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK).
Iran's accusations come at a time when the U.S. has indicated it wants to improve relations with the Islamic Republic
U.S. President Barak Obama said Monday he hopes to see serious progress by the end of year in diplomatic initiatives to get Iran to stop the suspect parts of its nuclear program.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters