Iran has denied a new allegation by Turkey that it is sheltering Kurdish rebels.

The Tehran Times quoted a foreign ministry official as saying Turkey had domestic problems which it wanted to attribute to foreign causes.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, said he would ask Iran to take more effective measures against Kurdish rebels when he meets the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharazi, who is due in Ankara on Monday.

For his part, the Iranian minister is expected to complain about Turkey's growing defence co-operation with Israel.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service