Israel: Arms bound for Hezbollah seized

Israeli soldiers unpack rockets seized by Israeli authorities on a ship near Cyprus, and presented in the port of the Israeli city of Ashdod, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered.(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov ) (The Associated Press)

Jerusalem » Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons 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. "All the cargo certificates are stamped at the ports of origin, and this one was stamped at an Iranian port."

The Israelis boarded the ship before dawn in the waters near Cyprus. Ben-Yehuda told a briefing that "hundreds of tons" of weapons were found on the ship, giving a much higher estimate than an earlier one of more than 60 tons.

Containers had Iranian shipping codes in English -- "IRISL" on one side and "I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group" on the other. Some of the hundreds of crates lined up on the dock were open, revealing dark green missiles with English-language designations painted in black.

But hours after the seizure, Israel had not provided proof that the arms were meant for the Lebanese

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.

In Tehran, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem dismissed Israeli allegations.

"Unfortunately, some official pirates in the seas, sometimes in the name of the navy, sometimes in the name of inspection, obstruct trade movement between Syria and Iran," al-Moallem said a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart.

"This ship does not carry Iranian weapons to Syria and does not contain military material to manufacture weapons in Syria. This ship carries imported goods from Syria to Iran," al-Moallem added.