TEHRAN – Iran has categorically dismissed claims made by the U.S. administration about the presence of a leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group in Iran, saying linking the terror outfit to Iran is “absurd” as those who created Al-Qaeda and Daesh are to blame for the spread of terrorism across the world.

Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian made the remark in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday after U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price claimed that Seif al-Adel, the new leader of Al-Qaeda, was based in Iran, without providing any evidence to substantiate the allegation.

“I advise White House to stop the failed Iranophobia game. Linking Al-Qaeda to Iran is patently absurd and baseless. Those who created Al-Qaeda and DAESH must be held accountable for spreading terrorism worldwide. Don’t give false address!” the top Iranian diplomat noted.

Price accused Iran at a press briefing on Wednesday of “offering safe haven to Al-Qaeda,” and providing “support for terrorism.”

The US claim comes as Iran, which is one of the biggest victims of terrorism, has been lauded as one of the pioneers in the fight against terrorism in the West Asia region.

Washington, as the main supporter of anti-Iran terrorism, has in numerous reports been proved to have created, trained and supported Daesh and other terror outfits to wreak havoc across the oil-rich region to plunder its resources.

Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York also rejected Price’s claim, saying the propagation of such misinformation could potentially hinder efforts to combat terrorism. The global network of Al-Qaeda was dismantled after the death of Osama Bin Laden and the organization is no longer in existence but its extremist ideology still persists. The emergence of ISIS (Daesh) has taken the place of Al-Qaeda and has given rise to a new form of terrorism,” the mission tweeted, referring to the terrorist group’s founder who was killed in 2011.

“It is worth noting that the address for the so-called newly appointed Al-Qaeda leader is incorrect. This misinformation could potentially hinder efforts to combat terrorism,” it added.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden claimed in a report last August that Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had been killed in a CIA drone strike on a residential area in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul.