Ambassador: U.S. seeks to break Iraq's ties to Iran

BAGHDAD, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States will present evidence of Iranian agents' hostile activities in Iraq soon and hopes arrests of Iranians will push Tehran to change its diplomatic ties with Iraq, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday.

A number of Iranian officials have been detained in three U.S. raids in the past month and U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters that details of the accusations against them would be made public in the coming days.

Washington accuses Iran of helping arm, train and fund Iraqi militants, notably fellow Shi'ite Muslims, and Khalilzad said Tehran may be trying to keep Iraq, a historic Arab opponent, weak and "distracted" to further aims of regional "hegemony".

The envoy said Washington accepted that Iran, its own regional adversary, would have close relations with neighbouring Iraq but it was "going after networks" of security agents which he said were a mainstay of Iran's involvement in Iraq.

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