US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has said that Hamas militants are serving as "proxy warriors" for Iran.

Ms Rice made the comments in a speech to the American Jewish Committee in Washington on Tuesday.

She attacked the Palestinian group, claiming that it had repeatedly refused to renounce violence, recognise Israel's right to exist and respect previous agreements.

"Perhaps of deepest concern, the leaders of Hamas are increasingly serving as the proxy warriors of an Iranian regime that is destabilising the region, seeking a nuclear capability and proclaiming its desire to destroy Israel," Ms Rice alleged at the meeting.

She also claimed that Iran was not just a threat in the Palestinian territories but also in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

The secretary of state said that a "belt of extremism" existed from Hamas, to Hizbullah in Lebanon, to militants in Iraq and "radicals even increasingly in places like Afghanistan".

Ms Rice said that the militants "supported overwhelmingly by Iran and to a certain extent Syria, but particularly Iran, gives this conflict a regional dimension it has not had before."

According to the AFP news agency, Tehran has repeatedly claimed that its support for Hamas is simply of a moral nature and does not involved the arming or training of militant fighters.

Ms Rice also called for international support for the Palestinian Authority, led by president Mahmoud Abbas, which she claimed had "the will to fight terrorism" and the "desire to govern effectively".
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