An Iraqi operations command denied on Saturday news reports about the deployment of more U.S. soldiers at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province.

“All media reports about the arrival of a new batch of U.S. troops at the Ain al-Asad base are baseless and lack credibility,” the Arabic-language Baghdad Today website quoted Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, as saying.

 Rasool further called on media outlets to take information only from reliable sources and not to depend on social networking websites.

 Tensions have risen recently between Washington and Iran as the U.S. administration sent bombers and aircraft carriers to the Middle East to counter what it described as potential threats against U.S interests from Iran.

 Tehran responded with warnings that it was ready to counter American threats.

 The uneasy atmosphere prompted a number of Western countries to announce withdrawal of some of their military or civilian workers in Iraq.

 Estimates put the number of U.S. troops at Ain al-Asad at 5000.