By The Associated Press

  HAVANA - Iran's ambassador here denied U.S. government allegations that Cuba transfers technology to countries such as his for germ warfare, insisting Tuesday that Havana's scientific agreements with Teheran are purely for lifesaving technology such as hepatitis vaccines.

  ''I fully reject the allegations made by State Undersecretary John Bolton,'' Ambassador Seyed D. Salehi told a news conference.

  Salehi said that under a 1998 agreement, Cuba has provided technology allowing Iran to vaccinate a large percentage of the nation's children for hepatitis B. That
  agreement also calls for Cuba to transfer interferon to Iran for treatment of hepatitis, AIDS and cancer, as well as other medicines for heart attacks, blood circulation and kidney ailments, he said.

  Although Iran could have obtained some of the vaccines throughout commercial pharmaceutical firms it decided to work primarily with Cuba's biotechnology as a fellow member of the Group of 77 developing nations, said the ambassador.

  Salehi's news conference was scheduled several days in advance, but it fell on the same day that the U.S. State Department released its annual report to Congress on state sponsors of terrorism. The report named Iran the world's most active sponsors of terrorist acts.

  Salehi said his country did not belong on the list.

  ''We are the victims of terrorism,'' he said. ``During eight years of war, it was the western countries that used chemical weapons our soldiers.''

  Also on the U.S. list of seven countries was Cuba, although little evidence was offered to justify including the communist island with six other countries, including Sudan, Libya, Iraq, North Korea and Syria. At least 20 Basque militants and several other terror suspects are given haven in Cuba, the report said.

  Cuban officials say that Washington keeps their country on the list to justify continued support for more than four decades of U.S. restrictions on American trade and travel to the Caribbean nation.

  Castro insists he opposes terrorism of all kinds and officials here made a point of ensuring they had signed all 12 U.N. counter-terror conventions after the Sept. 11
  attacks in the United States.

  The Iranian ambassador's statements also follow last week's declarations by Jimmy Carter during his visit here that U.S. officials briefing him before his trip told him they had no evidence that Cuba was providing any information to other countries for terrorism.

  ''There were absolutely no allegations made or questions raised,'' Carter said here last week. ``I asked them specifically on more than one occasion if there was any
  evidence that Cuba has been involved in sharing any information to any other country on Earth that could be used for terrorist purposes. The answer from our experts on intelligence was, 'No.'''

  Earlier in the month, Undersecretary of State John Bolton had said that he believed that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and
  development effort.

  Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states,'' Bolton said at the time. ``We are concerned that such technology could support BW programs in those states. ... We call on Cuba to cease all BW-applicable cooperation with rogue states and to fully comply with all of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention.''

  After Carter spoke on the issue, the State Department said that Carter was not briefed on the weapons issue because his briefing occurred before Bolton's declaration to a conservative policy group in Washington.

  Countries that Washington typically identifies as rogue nations include Iran and Libya.

  Cuban scientists deny they have any technology transfer program with Libya and that a new program to provide Iran with vaccine and other lifesaving technology has not yet started.