By Andrew Ross

NAIROBI, Kenya

 Iran on Tuesday strongly rejected claims that two suspected terrorists arrested in Kenya are linked to Iranian intelligence.

The Iranian ambassador to Nairobi, Hadi Farjvand, said his country “denies any relation with these two persons”.

Speaking at a news conference at the embassy, he said Iran was willing to cooperate with Kenya over the issue.

At the weekend, Police Inspector General Joseph Boinett said security forces had arrested two “Iranian-trained” terrorists sent to Kenya to carry out attacks on hotels, schools and Western targets.

He identified them as Abubakar Sadiq, 69, and Yassin Juma, 25. He described Sadiq as a well-respected figure in Nairobi’s Shia community and claimed Juma was a student radicalized by Sadiq.

Boinett said the two had confessed to spying for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite Quds unit and had made a number of recent trips to Iran to receive orders and money.

However, Farjvand said Iran had investigated the claims and found no official or unofficial link to any Iranian government agency.

“These are accusations that have been put forward and we totally deny any relation and link with the Iranian authorities,” he said. “We have been on the forefront helping the Iraqi and the Syrian governments to fight extremism. We are also doing the same with Kenya.

“We are ready to cooperate with any government in this regard. The role that we are playing in fighting against extremism is very significant and is clear and well known to everybody.”

The ambassador said Sadiq had travelled to Iran. The last time was to take part in a Tehran conference against extremism and terrorism, Farjvand said.

In June 2013, a Kenyan court convicted two Iranian nationals of being Quds agents plotting attacks on Western targets in Kenya. They were sentenced to life in prison.

Iranian agents are suspected in a number of attacks or attempted attacks around the world, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand and India. Most of the targets were linked to Israel.

The main terror threat facing Kenya is from al-Shabab, the Somalia-based group that has carried out a number of deadly attacks. In April, 148 were killed in an attack on a college in the northern town of Garissa and in September 2013 67 died when extremists assaulted a shopping mall in Nairobi.