Iran warned on Sunday that "any foreign military intervention in Iraq" would only complicate the crisis, after the US said it was deploying a warship in the Gulf.

Iran warned on Sunday that "any foreign military intervention in Iraq" would only complicate the crisis, after the US said it was deploying a warship in the Gulf.

"Iraq has the capacity and necessary preparations for the fight against terrorism and extremism," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was Sunday quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"Any action that complicates the situation in Iraq is not in the interests of the country nor of the region," Afkham said, adding, "The people and government of Iraq will be able to neutralize this conspiracy."

Iraq is battling an offensive by terrorist militants who have advanced to within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of Baghdad's city limits after seizing a swathe
of the country's north.

Responding to the crisis, the Pentagon said on Saturday the United States had ordered an aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, into the Gulf.

Afkham's comments come a day after Iranian President Sheikh Hassan Rouhani said he believed the Iraqis have the capacity to "repel terrorism" and that Iran had not been asked for help by its neighbor.

"We have said that all countries must unite in combating terrorism. But right now regarding Iraq... we have not seen the Americans taking a decision," Rouhani added.

However, Iraqi troops launched a counter-offensive on Saturday, recapturing two towns north of Baghdad, while thousands of volunteers answered a call to arms from top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani.