Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani lashed out on Wednesday at the security deal being negotiated between Baghdad and Washington, saying it impinged on Iraqi sovereignty.
"This encroaches on the sovereignty (of Iraq), and does not allow the creation of a strong government," he said during a visit to Bahrain.
His comments came as the Pentagon accused Iran of seeking to derail the agreement governing the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq beyond 2008 when a UN mandate expires.
"Iranian meddling in Iraq takes on all forms" including "an attempt by the Iranians to undermine, undercut, derail the SOFA (status of forces) agreement," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government has called for changes to the agreement to the deal, which was initially supposed to have been sealed by the end of July.
The United States has long accused Shiite Iran of meddling in the affairs of neighbouring Iraq by aiding militia groups there, charges denied by Tehran.
