Israel cites proof of Iran arms link

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military yesterday released documents and photos it said proved Iran was behind a huge shipment of weapons that Israeli navy commandos intercepted last week.

Israel has said the cargo ship its troops seized off the coast of Cyprus was carrying 500 tons of Iranian-made weapons for Hezbollah extremists in Lebanon. The ship had dozens of containers with Iranian markings on it.

Yesterday, the military released what it said was the ship's manifest that showed it was handled by "Islamic Republic of Iran's Shipping Lines." It also produced labeling from the containers indicating the ship originated in Isfahan, Iran, and a customs form stamped by the Iranian armed forces.

Iran and Hezbollah have denied the Israeli assertions. Officials at Iran's Foreign Ministry were not immediately available for comment.

An international expert who examined the documents and pictures of the weapons said the arms came from Iran, but it was not possible to determine whether the Iranian government was directly involved. Another was not prepared to pinpoint the source of the weapons.

On Tuesday, the United States accused Iran of violating a U.N. arms embargo by secretly sending the weapons aboard the Francop - a merchant ship flying the flag of Antigua and destined for the Syrian port of Latakia.

Israel has showcased the haul as proof of its long-standing contention that Iran is supplying large quantities of arms to Hezbollah and to Hamas extremists in Gaza.

Israel said the confiscated arms cache - the largest it has ever seized - did not include any new types of weapons for Hezbollah. However, the arms would have given Hezbollah a month's worth of firepower in time of war. Israel has urged the world to focus on the threat from the Lebanese extremists' chief backer, Iran.

Also yesterday, Hezbollah's leader accused President Obama of absolute bias in favor of Israel and disregard for the dignity of Arabs and Muslims.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Obama had gone even further in his military support for Israel than his predecessor, George W. Bush - who was reviled in much of the Arab world for the Iraq war and his support of Israel.

The remarks were Nasrallah's strongest criticism yet of the American president since Obama took office.

Nasrallah said Obama's earlier statements calling on Israel to freeze settlement-building and then going back on that demand was a "tactic" agreed on by Israel and the United States.

Obama's initial settlement demand was "an American ploy to pass the time and gain Arab sympathy," Nasrallah said, adding that any "illusions" anyone had about Obama being more evenhanded had collapsed.

"What we see is absolute American commitment to Israeli interests, Israeli conditions, and Israeli security . . . while disregarding the dignity or feelings of the Arab and Muslim people and their nations and governments," he said in a speech broadcast to tens of thousands of supporters in a southern Beirut suburb.