THE Pentagon has denied any knowledge of Osama bin Laden's "arrest" after an Iranian report that he has been held for some time.
The external Pashto-language service of Iranian state radio quoted an "informed source".
It suggested bin Laden had been detained "some time ago", but the news was being kept secret and was likely to be announced later in the year to boost US President George W. Bush's re-election chances.
A Pentagon Central Command spokesman in Tampa, Florida, said: I have no reports on us capturing OBL, Osama bin Laden. We don't have anything on that.