Nato forces in Afghanistan have seized a large shipment of weapons reportedly coming from Iran, according to military officials.

The Washington Post reports officials saying that the shipment, seized on September 6th, included armour-piercing bombs and 'explosively formed projectiles'.

This is the third shipment of the devices to the country since April that has been seized, according to the paper. The weapons have caused numerous casualties among troops serving in the country in patrol vehicles.

The paper quotes a US official in Washington saying: "It's not the fact that it's qualitatively different, but this was a large shipment which got people's attention.

"They're clearly trying to vary their routes and not get caught," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The Washington Post cites a senior Iranian official as saying that the Persian country had no interest in instability in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"We have good neighbourly relations with the heads of state, who have praised Iran recently. Why should we send weapons to the opposition?" the unnamed official said.

US president George Bush recently criticised Iran for backing militants in Iraq and causing instability in the country. In the speech in which he announced a pullout of troops from the Middle Eastern country, the American head of state warned that premature withdrawals would benefit Iran as it would be encouraged to "dominate the region".

Yesterday, Iran's supreme leader denied that it was stirring unrest in Iraq by claiming that the US was searching for a scapegoat for its problems.

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