"Seven policemen were killed in a clash with rebels in Kermanshah province this morning," the television reported. "Two rebels were wounded," it added, without giving further details.

The television report did not give any further explanation about the identity of the rebels involved in the clash, which took place in a province which has a population of Iran's minority Kurds.

Iran's border area with Turkey and Iraq is hugely sensitive and security forces are frequently involved in clashes with Kurdish separatist militants, in particular Pejak, a group linked to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Iran has also repeatedly accused the United States of seeking to stir up ethnic trouble in the area and other border regions.

Iran is bound by a treaty with Turkey to fight the PKK. In return, Turkey has pledged to fight Iran's main armed opposition group, the Iraq-based People's Mujahedeen.

Turkey has praised Iran's efforts to crack down on Kurdish rebels linked to the PKK, who have been waging a deadly armed struggle for self-rule in the southeast of Turkey since 1984.

Iran has however vehemently denied claims by officials in northern Iraq that it was shelling separatist guerrilla bases in Iraqi Kurdistan.