Iran says it has arrested Afghan and Pakistani citizens who were trying to join Islamic State (IS) jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani said the foreigners planned to cross Iran - but did not specify how many had been arrested, or where.
Shia Iran is opposed to the Sunni extremists of IS, who have undermined its allies in Iraq and Syria.
Iran is said to be prepared to work alongside the US against IS in Iraq.
Sources in Tehran told BBC Persian last week that Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had authorised his top commander to co-ordinate the fight against IS with US, Kurdish and Iraqi forces.
However, Iran's foreign ministry denied that it would co-operate with the US against IS.
Iran has traditionally opposed US involvement in Iraq, an Iranian ally.
Recently however, both the US and Iran have offered military assistance to combat IS in Iraq, while refusing to place their troops on the ground
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29116764IS has made some strange bedfellows.
