TEHRAN, May 17--Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Saturday US agents had armed and trained those behind a deadly blast in a mosque last month and that pipelines in the country's oil-rich south were also among the planned targets.

Washington and London have been blamed by Tehran of trying to destabilize Iran by supporting rebels, mainly those in sensitive border areas.

Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei had said 15 people had been arrested in connection with the blast and they had also plotted to attack a Russian consulate in northern Iran.

WASHINGTON, May 14 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for more visits to Iran by American citizens on Wednesday, saying the private contact might help bridge differences between the two countries.

Talking about U.S.-Iran relations at the American Academy of Diplomacy, Gates said that "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage with the Iranians and then sit down and talk with them."

"There are actually a fair number of Iranians that come to the United States to visit," he said.

The White House says security guarantees are not being considered in talks with Iran regarding its disputed nuclear program.

Speaking from Israel where he is traveling with U.S. President George Bush, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that the best way for Iran to guarantee its security is to stop threatening to wipe Israel off the map and to stop trying to destabilize Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck the central Chinese province, Sichuan.  Initial reports say between 3,000 to 5,000 people are known dead, with official Chinese media predicting the death toll will continue to rise.  VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

The large earthquake struck after midday. The epicenter was 90 kilometers from the Sichuan provincial capital, Chengdu.

The Vice-Director of the Sichuan Earthquake Bureau, Deng Changwen, spoke to China Central TV by phone.

He said the large earthquake cut all communication to the disaster area, hampering official attempts to determine the real situation.

Iran on Friday accused the US and the Israeli occupying regime of fueling the deadly sectarian fighting in Lebanon between the Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah and the rivals loyal to government.

"Adventurous efforts and interventions by the US and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the continuous chaotic situation in Lebanon," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

"Unfortunately, part of the political plot which was predicted ... has been executed," said Hosseini, who was quoted by ISNA and Fars news agencies.

There are fears of a US move against Hezbollah’s backers in Syria and Iran.

The seizure of West Beirut by Hezbollah fighters this morning has raised the spectre of Lebanon descending into civil war on the scale of the conflict that wrecked the country between 1975-90.

The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, accused the American-backed prime minister Fuad Siniora of "declaring war on Hezbollah" in a fiery speech broadcast on Thursday night. The government had tried to close down the Hezbollah communications network linking its centres in the Shia zones of the capital with command posts in the south of the country.

TEHRAN — Iran has lodged a formal protest at the United Nations about comments by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States would "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, the state-run news agency, IRNA, reported Thursday.

Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, sent a letter of protest on Wednesday to the United Nations secretary general and the Security Council, IRNA said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in India to push ahead with talks on a natural gas pipeline to New Delhi, despite U.S. objections to the project.

The Iranian leader is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the $7.5- billion project. The proposed pipeline would stretch from Iran to Pakistan and India to boost economic development in the South Asian nations.

The United States has opposed the pipeline deal in an effort to isolate Iran for its disputed nuclear program and alleged support of terrorism.