"If they want to come legally, we will naturally reject it, but if they come illegally, we will try them because of the crimes they have committed against our people", Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said.

Mr. Asefi made the statement following a series of menaces formulated by American "hawks" against Iran and Syria, two neighbours of Iraq which criticised both Washington and London for attacking Iraq and toppling its dictator, Saddam Hoseyn.

Iranian political analysts said following the occupation of Iraq, the ayatollahs who rule Iran have become "more convinced" that their regime is the next on Washington’s list of "rogue states" and to avoid the same fate as Saddam, they have made some "hasty adjustments" to their stated foreign policy aimed at preventing a possible American attack.

As a first step in that direction and in a dramatic U-turn, the Islamic Republic welcomed the downfall of Saddam Hoseyn, contrary to other Arab and Muslim governments.

The next move came one day after, in the form of a statement by Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the regime’s leader, calling on the Iraqi people to put an end to the anarchy, looting and disorder.

The appeal, which for the first time did not include any attack on the "Great Satan", was made at the same time as the Coalition had embarked on serious operations to restore law and order.

The Monday’s declaration by Mr. Asefi is another hint at the Americans, for, considering the degree of hostility and the hate Iranians harbour for the past Iraqi regime and its leaders, it is difficult to see any high-ranking Iraqi official fleeing to Iran for refuge.

Iraq invaded parts of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1980, imposing a destructive war, which continued for eight years, killing half a million people, wounding an disabling three other million and destroying thousands of towns and villages, ruining the nation’s economic infrastructure.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday the U.K. government is grateful to Iran for its cooperation on the war in Iraq.

Speaking in an interview with BBC radio from Bahrain about the possible threat of military action against Iran and Syria by the U.S., Straw said: "We've been developing better diplomatic relations with Iran. It's a very important neighbour of Iraq...We want to see good-neighbourly relations with Iran (by Iraq) and we're grateful to the Iranians for the support and cooperation they gave during the course of this military conflict."

Straw dismissed the military threats to Syria and Iran as background noise from the edges of the U.S. administration.