With the U.S. vehemently denying having links to a notorious terrorist group active in southeastern Iran, a top Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander talks of evidence on U.S. intelligence support for the rebels.

Addressing IRGC commanders in Iran's central province of Isfahan, Brigadier General Gholam-Reza Soleimani said the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been spending millions of dollars in its campaign against the Islamic Republic.
""The CIA makes a contribution of more than one billion dollar each year to Pakistan's intelligence agency (Inter-Service Intelligence) as part of a campaign to eliminate individuals with anti-U.S. mentalities,"" the Iranian commander said.
Soleimani went on to say that there has been evidence that Pakistan's ISI has had a hand in many terrorist incidents in Iran, including a recent killing of IRGC commanders in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
The Iranian official was referring to an earlier attack in October, in which a number of top IRGC commanders and Shia and Sunni tribal leaders were killed in the borderline region of Pishin in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
The Pakistan-based Jundullah terrorist group, which is believed to be closely affiliated with the al-Qaeda organization, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Shortly after the bombing, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly condemned the attack and went further to describe claims of U.S. involvement in the attack as ""completely false.""
Commander Soleimani rejected the condemnation, saying that the U.S. is the hidden hand behind the deadly incident.
""There exists documented evidence of links between (Abdolmalek) Rigi's terrorist group and the CIA and Intelligent Service,"" the IRGC official said.
The comment came as earlier in October former army chief of staff in Pakistan General Aslam Beg said that the border village of Mand had been used as a staging point for U.S. contacts with Jundullah.
""U.S. aid also was funneled into the region through the Pakistani ports of Kot Kalmat and Jiwani,"" he told AP.
In a separate article published by The Time, former Middle East case officer at the Central Intelligence Agency Robert Baer said the CIA had ""sporadic"" contact with Jundullah.
""American intelligence has also had contact with Jundullah. But that contact, as Iran almost certainly knows, was confined to intelligence-gathering on the country,"" wrote Baer.
In his article, the former CIA official also claimed that ""a relationship with Jundullah was never formalized, and contact was sporadic.""
Commenting on U.S. involvement, Soleimani said Washington would only stop its interference in the Islamic Republic's matters of state, if Iran distances itself from its principles.
(Source: Press TV)