Iran’s president acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that Afghan and Pakistani intelligence helped his government to hunt down the leader of the most dangerous ethnic opposition movement.

Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad paid an official visit to Kabul, the Afghan capital, and disclosed the help that Iran received to arrest Abdolmalek Rigi, the commander of the Jundollah guerrilla group which seeks independence for the Baluchi minority.

Mr Rigi was captured about two weeks ago in an operation outside Iran’s borders. During a press conference in Kabul with Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad acknowledged the role of his neighbours in this operation, and “in particular Afghanistan”.