Multinational forces detain five Iranian consulate staff

Iraqi officials today said multinational forces had detained five Iranians in a pre-dawn raid of Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil.

The forces stormed the building at about 3am, detaining the five workers and confiscating computers and documents, two senior local Kurdish officials said.

Irbil is a city in the Kurdish-controlled north, 250 miles from Baghdad.

The report, which first appeared on Iraq state television, was also confirmed by a Shiite official in the capital.

The US military had no immediate comment.

The motive for the raid was not known, but it came as tensions are high between Iran and the United States.

The Bush administration has accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and of helping fuel violence in Iraq.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, is trying to expand Iran’s role in Iraq as a counter to US influence in the Gulf region.