'The prime minister has ordered a special panel of representatives of security ministries to document any Iranian intervention in Iraqi affairs,' government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said at a news conference.

He said Iraq had experienced Iranian interference in the past but 'we have also experienced a positive role from Iran.'

'We are looking for hard evidence and want to present a document at a later stage,' Mr Dabbagh said later on the same day.

Teheran strongly opposes the US military presence in Iraq, whenemy, and that Teheran supported Baghdad government moves to curb violence.

'Iran supports the governmenttalks between Iran and Iraq on curbing the sectarian violence.

'We welcome all dialogue between Iran and Iraq,' he said, adding that they supported any platform that could lead to an end to violence and ensure stability in Iraq where Washington has deployed more than 158,000 troops.

Mr Dabbagh said an Iraqi parliamentary delegation which visited Iran last week had held useful discussions and secured assurances of support.

'They talked frankly about the fears and concerns in Iraq,' he told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad's tightly-guarded Green Zone where the Iraqi government and the US embassy are located.

He stressed that Iraq wanted closer relations with Iran. 'What happend in the past is in the past,' he said referring to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

MrDabbagh said that Baghdad was keen to 'reorganise' its relations with its former and understands the need to eliminate all militia... and allow the rule of law,' Mr Dabbagh said, adding that the Iraqi team which went to Iran had the blessing of the government but was not 'official.'

Reports from Teheran on Sunday said Iran had warned Iraq against using excessive force in its crackdown against Shiite militias.

'We support the efforts of the Iraqi government to disarm the armed militia but we advise them not to confront the population,' an official source, who was not named, told the student ISNA news agency in Teheran.

'The official position of the Islamic republic of Iran is to support the legal Iraqi government and we will do everything to ensure the security of the country,' added the source.

Militiamen mostly loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who according to his Najaf-based office is currently in Iran, have been battling US troops in Baghdad's Sadr City.

Sadr's Mahdi Army militants have fought running streetbattles with US and Iraqi forces since late March in the district, killing hundreds of people. -- AFP