Israeli commandos seize arms ship ‘from Iran bound for Hezbollah’

ISRAELI commandos have seized a ship that defence officials said was carrying hundreds of tonnes of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas — the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered.

The Israeli military said an Iranian document was found on board, showing that the arms shipment originated from Iran, although the paper was not shown to reporters. Rear Admiral Roni Ben-Yehuda, the deputy Israeli navy commander, said that despite its size, the shipment of weapons was “a drop in the ocean” of arms being shipped to Hezbollah.

“It’s a cargo certificate that shows that it was from a port in Iran,” military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said.

The Israelis boarded the ship before dawn in the waters near Cyprus. Israel has long accused Iran of arming its enemies.

Ben-Yehuda, the deputy Israeli navy commander, told a briefing that “hundreds of tonnes” of weapons were found on the ship, giving a much higher estimate than an earlier one of more than 60 tonnes. But hours after the seizure, Israel had not provided proof that the arms were meant for the Lebanese guerrillas.

Israeli military officials said the ship’s journey started in Iran, and it arrived a week ago in Beirut. The next stop was Damietta, Egypt, where the weapons were loaded, they said. Ben Yehuda said the ship was headed for Latakia, Syria.

An Egyptian government official said it was “illogical” to think that Egypt is shipping weapons to Hezbollah. The official, who declined to be named could not confirm or deny if the ship entered Egyptian ports. But he said it is not possible to search every ship that enters Egypt’s ports.

Egypt’s relations with Hezbollah have been strained following the arrest in April of 26 people suspected of working for the group. The group is on trial in Cairo accused of spying for a foreign group, planning attacks against tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal, and sending operatives to Gaza to help militant groups there.

In the southern port Israeli city of Ashdod where the ship was towed and docked, hundreds of rockets and piles of boxes of grenades were stacked on the shore as Israeli forces unloaded the cargo, a process that was expected to take hours.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a bitter war in the summer of 2006 that ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire, but occasional flare-ups occur.