"We don't have any relations or links with the US or its security services. So there is no reason to cooperate with them by giving them information," government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told reporters.

The United States has demanded Iran turn over detained senior members of al-Qaeda, but Iran has said the men -- whose names have not been disclosed -- could be tried in its own courts.

Ramazanzadeh also responded to comments Tuesday by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who said Washington may hold limited talks with Tehran -- lumped into an "axis of evil" by US President George W. Bush.

"We are expecting practical steps by the US. You can't threaten from one side and block our assets.. and then request discussions," Ramazanzadeh said.

"We have to see practical steps," he emphasised. "The discussion here is what the US will do in practice in order to gain our trust."

First and foremost, Ramazanzadeh said the United States "should stop accusing us".

"They have levelled false accusations against us one too many times. They have to put a stop to it," he said, even though he asserted that Iran's "being or not being in an axis of evil has no meaning to us."

He also repeated a previous demand that the US unfreeze Iranian assets that were blocked after the 1979 Islamic revolution.