TEHRAN (Agencies) – In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, strongly criticized the U.S. for meddling in Iranian internal affairs by exaggerating the legal action taken against U.S.-based Iranian nationals for acting against national security.

Iran has detained two Iranian-American scholars -- Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh as well as a so-called peace activist Ali Shakeri. All three are being held on suspicions of spying or acting against state interests. A fourth, Parnaz Azima -- a reporter with Radio Farda -- has been charged with disseminating propaganda and is free on bail awaiting trial. Larijani told CNN that for Tehran all four were "Iranians before they were Americans."

He said America should stop its criticism and leave their cases up to the Iranian justice system.

Larijani said that the U.S. has exaggerated the case of the Iranian nationals under investigation to conceal its attempts to set up espionage networks in Iran.

"The U.S. has a dark record of human rights violations in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and it should not have concerns about human rights of Iranian nationals under investigation," Larijani told CNN as quoted by IRNA.