US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has denied that the US intends to escalate the war in Iraq by confronting Iranian groups operating there.

Ms Rice backed a pledge by President Bush to run search and destroy missions against groups suspected of building bombs for use within Iraq.

"That's not an escalation, that's good policy," Ms Rice told the BBC.

Ms Rice spoke ahead of a visit to the Middle East, a visit that will focus on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

The week-long tour will take in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Crosshead here

Speaking before leaving the US, Ms Rice insisted that the United States was not going to let either Iran or Syria continue activities that endangered US soldiers in Iraq.

"I don't think there is a government in the world that would sit by and let the Iranians in particular run networks inside Iraq that are building explosive devices of a very high quality that are being used to kill their soldiers.

"That's not an escalation, that's just good policy."

Earlier this week the US raided the Iranian consulate in Irbil, northern Iraq, detaining five people.

Both President George W Bush and Ms Rice have said this week that they intend to step up measures against those threatening to destabilize Iraq.

The president announced 21,500 extra troops for Iraq in an effort to dampen violence across the country, especially in the capital, Baghdad.

Last year an influential report led by former Secretary of State James Baker urged the Bush administration to begin negotiations with Iran and Syria in a bid to find a solution in Iraq.

Reasonable voices

As well as Iraq, Ms Rice will also discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict during her stay in the Middle East.

However, she admitted she was not traveling to the region with a plan to end the conflict.

"I think anything that is an American plan is bound to fail," she said.

"The United States is not going to succeed in this alone. This has to have an Arab voice - Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.

"It certainly has to have the voice of the reasonable factions among the Palestinians, like Abu Mazen [Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas]. And it has to have an Israeli voice."

Photo caption

US patrol in Baghdad