TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Commerce Minister Masoud Mirkazemi denied recent reports that the country has imported wheat from the United States, Iran's English-language Press TV satellite channel said on Sunday.

    "We purchase wheat from Canada and some European countries, but Iran has not had any direct wheat imports from the U.S.," Mirkazemi was quoted as saying.

    Iran has announced plans to import one million tons of wheat per month in September, October and November in order to compensate for a drop in the country's grain production.

    A devastating drought in Iran this year has led to a 20 percent decrease in the country's wheat output compared with last year. Iran's wheat production this year is at its lowest level in six years, Press TV said.

    Western media reported on Thursday that Iran has bought more than one million tons of hard red winter wheat directly from the U.S. since the 2008-09 marketing year began on June 1.