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| US 'frees' five Iranian diplomats | US 'frees' five Iranian diplomats |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Five Iranian diplomats held by the US military in Iraq since January 2007 have been freed, according to Iranian state media. | Five Iranian diplomats held by the US military in Iraq since January 2007 have been freed, according to Iranian state media. |
| Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad was quoted as saying that US forces had handed over the five to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki. | Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad was quoted as saying that US forces had handed over the five to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki. |
| Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said they would soon be taken to the Iranian embassy. | |
| US forces seized the five in the Kurdish city of Irbil on suspicion of arming and funding Shia militias. | US forces seized the five in the Kurdish city of Irbil on suspicion of arming and funding Shia militias. |
| There was no immediate comment from the US embassy on Thursday about the reported releases. | There was no immediate comment from the US embassy on Thursday about the reported releases. |
| The Fars news agency quoted Mr Kazemi-Qomi as saying the diplomats "kidnapped by American occupying forces have been handed over to Iraq's prime minister. | |
| "They will soon be handed over to Iran's embassy in Iraq," he said. | "They will soon be handed over to Iran's embassy in Iraq," he said. |
| After the arrests, Washington said the five Iranians had no diplomatic status, but Tehran accused the US of breaching international diplomatic regulations. | |
| The Iraqi authorities said at the time the five Iranians had been in Irbil with official approval, but that their office had not yet been granted full consulate status. | |
| US authorities had said the five included a senior member of Iran's Quds Force, an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards. | |
| Washington has accused the force of helping arm and train some Iraqi militants, a claim Tehran denies. | |
| The former US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, once accused Mr Kazemi-Qomi of belonging to the Quds Force. |