TEHRAN, Nov 17: Iran denied on Monday a report that it had detained 10 spies who had entered the country illegally from Pakistan.

State television said on Saturday the spies were seized in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan. The report had said they were carrying $500,000 in cash, espionage cameras and maps of sensitive regions.

“We deny this report,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference, without giving further details.

Sistan-Baluchestan is a volatile province known for frequent clashes between security forces and well-armed drug smugglers.

Iran has in the past accused the United States and Britain of trying to destabilise the country by supporting ethnic minority rebels operating in sensitive border areas.—Reuters