TEHRAN (Reuters) - An influential Iranian cleric on Friday rejected President George W. Bush’s accusations that Iran was arming and funding Shiite militias in Iraq to kill American soldiers, state radio reported.

In a speech at the White House on Thursday, Bush repeated long-standing U.S. accusations against Iran and warned the Islamic republic to stop interfering in Iraq. He characterized Iran and al Qaeda as “two of the greatest threats to America.”
“Iran has never interfered in Iraq ... such claims are sheer lies made by Iraq’s occupiers to continue Iraq’s occupation,” Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told worshippers in a Friday prayers sermon at Tehran University.
“Iran supports the establishment of peace, security and freedom in Iraq as well as the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq,” added Rafsanjani, the head of a powerful arbitrary body.
“Let’s talk on nuclear”
Rafsanjani also said Iran was ready to hold further talks with the West over its nuclear activities.
“I am repeating again here that it is useless to pressure Iran when we are ready to talk and provide evidence and documents about our nuclear work,” Rafsanjani said.
Tehran says its atomic work is solely to generate electricity.
The five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany will meet on April 16 in Shanghai to discuss whether to sweeten incentives they had offered Iran in 2006 to curb its nuclear work.
“There is no better way than resolving the issue through talks,” Rafsanjani in his sermon which was broadcast live.