JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli officials tallied up hundreds of tons of weapons seized from a commandeered ship Thursday as Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas denied that the arms were meant for them.
Israeli naval commandos, acting on intelligence reports, boarded the ship before dawn in waters off Cyprus Wednesday and discovered that the cargo included hundreds of crates of rockets, missiles, mortars, anti-tank weapons and munitions.
The seizure spotlighted dangerous tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear program and long-range missile development, and says Tehran is lying when it denies it is building nuclear weapons.
Government spokesman Mark Regev said Thursday that he hopes the capture of the weapons will be a "wake-up call to those few in the international community who up until now have still held illusions about the true character of the extremist, radical regime in Tehran."
Containers taken from the ship had Iranian shipping codes in English, "IRISL" on one side and "I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group" on the other. The Israeli military said an Iranian document showing the shipment originated from Iran was found on board the intercepted ship, although the paper was not shown to reporters.
Israel says the cargo was bound for Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war with Israel three years ago.
But a day after the seizure, Israel had not provided evidence the arms were meant for Hezbollah, and the guerrilla group denied any link to the shipment.
In a statement faxed to The Associated Press on Thursday, Hezbollah said it "categorically denies" any connection to the weapons. The statement also said Israel's actions amounted to "piracy."
Iran has had no comment on the affair.
Wednesday's seizure was bigger than a similar haul in 2002, when Israeli military confiscated a vessel with 50 tons of missiles, mortars, rifles and ammunition headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Israel has said that shipment came from Iran as well.
The presence of Iranian proxies in the Mideast have combined with worries over Tehran's nuclear program and arsenal of long-range missiles to make Iran the Jewish state's most formidable foe.
Neutralizing the Iranian nuclear threat remains Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top priority. Israel has not ruled out a military strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities.
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AP Writer Hussein Dakroub contributed to this report from Beirut.
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