"Those arrested were after carrying out American plans and operations to disrupt the parliamentary election using cyber space and social networks," Moslehi told reporters after a cabinet session, state media reported.

Moslehi did not say when or how many people were arrested, nor did he reveal their nationalities.

But he said they were also in contact with people abroad, through the internet, asIran braces to hold a legislative election on March 2, its first poll since the disputed 2009 presidential election.

The report coincides with the trial in Iran of a former US Marine of Iranian descent, Amir Mirzai Hekmati, after he was accused of working on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency to infiltrate the Iranian intelligence ministry.