The United States said on Thursday that Iran's president-elect was a leader of the movement behind the 1979 hostage crisis at the US embassy in Teheran but was unsure if he took part in the hostage-taking crisis, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Thursday.

"In terms of the president, we've looked into the allegations that were made about his involvement in the 1979 hostage crisis. We know he was a leader of the student movement that organized the attack on the embassy and the taking of American hostages," McClellan said at a briefing.

"However, we are still looking into whether or not he was actually one of the hostage-takers. That's something we continue to look into," McClellan said.

The spokesman added that it would be no surprise if Mahmood Ahmadinejad actually took part in such activity.

The United States has been looking into allegations that Ahmadinejad played a role in the 1979 siege of the US embassy in Teheran.

On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian students took hostage of some 90 people inside the US embassy. Fifty-two remained in captivity until they were released on Jan. 20, 1981.

The Iranian side has denied allegations concerning Ahmadinejad.

Source: Xinhua