Some US intelligence officials have rejected US president George Bush administrations' recent remarks about Iran's involvement in Iraq.

Citing unnamed US intelligence and administration officials, The New York Times reported Saturday that what President Bush and other American officials have publicly portrayed as an intensified Iranian role is faulty.

A number of high ranking US officials have increasingly tried to blame Tehran for the recent unrest in south of Iraq by accusing Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents.

"I am increasingly concerned about Iran's activity not just in Iraq but throughout the region," said US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in a Friday press conference.

(Article continues below)

This is while according to the Times' report, 'more than two dozen military, intelligence and administration officials have conceded that the alleged shipments of arms have not necessarily increased'.

The Iranian government, however, has sought to spread its influence inside Iraq through legitimate economic assistance, in particular across the oil-rich Shia south, the paper pointed out.

"They don't want to be identified with activities that might be seen by the international community as illegitimate," paper quoted a senior US official as saying.

Iran, which categorically denies supplying ammunition to militants, has vowed to aid the Iraqi government in reestablishing security and stability in the oil-rich war-ravaged country.