US forces announced on Wednesday that eight Iranian officials “were released in consultation with the government of Iraq” after being detained Tuesday night in Baghdad.

The statement was confirmed by Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, who said all members of a delegation scheduled to meet Iraqi officials from the Ministry of Electricity were handed over to local authorities and taken to the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during the earlly hours.

The eight Iranian nationals and their Iraqi bodyguards were detained at the Sheraton hotel in Baghdad last night, US soldiers confiscating weapons belonging to the Iraqis along with a laptop, cell phones and a briefcase filled with money.

It was later found out that the Iranians arrived in the country with the goal of signing a deal in the energetic sector and were not involved in any illegal activities.

This is the second incident involving Iranian citizens and American troops occurring this year in Iraq. In January, five Iranians accused of being involved in attacks against security forces were arrested in the northern city of Arbil by US soldiers.

Washington accused Iran of providing support to militants in Iraq and boosting the insurgency. Tehran denied the allegations and stressed that all five detainees are diplomats, not members of the Revolutionary Guards as the US said.