30 Nov 2010

Iran plays down impact of leaked documents

11:24 am on 30 November 2010

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has dismissed the WikiLeaks disclosures about Arab fears of Tehran's nuclear ambitions as "worthless mischief".

On Monday, the website released thousands of extracts from US diplomatic messages, which include cables detailing calls by Arab Gulf leaders for the United States to strike Iran's nuclear sites.

President Ahmadinejad says the leaked documents are part of a psychological war against Iran, which he says will not affect the country's relationship with its Arab neighbours, the BBC reports.

The US government has condemned the leaks as reckless and dangerous.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States is now taking aggressive steps to bring to account those who stole and leaked the information.

But WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the US State Department is trying to hamper his work so abuses will be kept out of the public domain.