TEHRAN, Jan 17: A Tehran court has jailed a number of people accused of involvement in a US-sponsored plot to overthrow Iran’s Islamic system of government, a semi-official news agency said on Saturday.

The Mehr News Agency said the accused had confessed, but did not say how many they were or give any details on the sentences. The judiciary last Tuesday had said Iran had arrested four Iranians in connection with a suspected US-financed plot to topple the Islamic system.

“Based on clear confessions, the accused planned to weaken the foundation of the government and overthrow the Islamic system,” Mehr quoted Tehran’s revolutionary court as saying.

Iran often accuses the West of seeking to undermine the Islamic state through a “velvet revolution” with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country. The US accuses Tehran of seeking to build nuclear bombs. Iranian officials deny the charge.

Mehr quoted the court statement as saying the accused in the case had been sentenced to imprisonment and were behind bars. The Bush administration had “hired a number of renegade and traitorous agents”, who, with US funding, aimed to “realise their sinister goals”, the court said, according to Mehr.

It added: “The accused have explicitly confessed to the plan to present the US as the only saviour of the Iranian people by creating a gap between the people and the government of Iran.”

The New York Times this month said Bush had deflected an Israeli request last year for bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s nuclear complex, saying he had authorised covert action to sabotage its suspected atomic arms development. The report said Bush had turned to the CIA and authorised an effort aimed at Iran’s industrial infrastructure supporting its nuclear programme.—Reuters