TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Sunday allocating prize for assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was not Iran's official stance, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

    "The news released in some internet sources on Iran's prize for the assassination of Egyptian president does not represent Iran's official stance," Qashqavi was quoted as saying.

    Some internet sources claimed Iran had allocated a 1-million-U.S. dollar prize for would-be assassin(s) of Mubarak.

    Iran, either directly or indirectly, has criticized Cairo for closing Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, which has been under intensive Israeli airstrikes and ground incursion for over two weeks.

    Iran has incessantly called for wholesale support of Muslim world for the war-worn Gazans and strongly condemned the silence of some Arab states which Iran says paved the way for Israel's further offense.

    It also invited world Muslims to "defend the oppressed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," urging Muslims of the world to stay united against world arrogance, the criminal Zionists in particular."

    Since the Israeli offensive began on Dec. 27, 2008 which the Jewish state said was aimed at retaliating Hamas rocket and mortar attacks, at least 878 people in the impoverished Gaza Strip have been killed and more than 3,500 others wounded.

    Hamas is strongly backed by Iran which does not recognize Israel as a state of the international community.