US concerned about Iran arming Iraq militants-Panetta

BAGHDAD, July 11 (Reuters) - Leon Panetta, on his first visit to Iraq as U.S. defense secretary, said on Monday the United States is concerned about Iran providing weapons to Iraq militants and will take unilateral action when needed to deal with the threat.

"We are very concerned about Iran and the weapons they are providing to extremists here in Iraq. And we're seeing the results of that," Panetta said. "In June we lost a hell of a lot of Americans as a result of those attacks. And we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen ..." (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Louise Ireland)