Tehran, August 28 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry on August 25 labeled the United States the principal sponsor of terrorism in the world.

The U.S. State Department in a recent report took issue with Iran, claiming that it is offering funds and arms and equipment to the extremists in Iraq. The spokesman dismissed such assertion as groundless, adding that the U.S. is slandering other countries though it is aiding and organizing terrorist acts.

The U.S. is, indeed, the arch criminal spreading terrorism worldwide, he said, noting that the U.S. absolute support to Israel goes to prove that it is the most zealous sponsor of terrorism in the world.