Israel Cites Palestinian-Iran Alliance

Israel said Palestinian and Iranian officials met in Moscow last year and forged a new alliance in which the Palestinians were to receive millions of dollars worth of heavy weaponry in exchange for allowing Iran more influence and intelligence information about Israel.

The Palestinians dismissed the charges as misinformation by Israeli intelligence. But Israeli sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details of the agreement were worked out in a meeting between unspecified Palestinian and Iranian officials last May, during a visit to the Russian capital by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The sources said Israel believed the meeting took place in the Iranian embassy. They did not say Arafat personally attended. It was not known how much knowledge the Russians had of the meeting.

A senior Israeli security source said an alleged recent effort to smuggle 50 tons of Iranian-supplied weapons, including missiles and explosives, into the Palestinian areas was discussed at that meeting and was only one part of these broader ties.

In January, after the Karine A ship carrying the weapons was intercepted, Israeli officials rushed to Washington, telling the Bush administration that the capture was the most spectacular find so far but only part of a new strengthened financial and arms relationship. They said Arafat personally had approved the relationship, though they offered no public proof.

In an article Sunday, the New York Times said U.S. intelligence now accepted Israel's version that the Karine A was part of a wider alliance.

Ahmed Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian Cabinet secretary, said the report was a total fabrication.

"There was no meeting between Arafat aides and Iranian officials in Moscow or anywhere else," he said. "It is enough to prove that these allegations are a lie to know their sources, which are the Israeli security sources."

Abdel Rahman said he regretted that U.S. officials have accepted the Israeli allegations.

"There are no relations between the Palestinian Authority and Iran," he said. "There are only differences. We accept the peace process and the Iranians do not."

Vice President Dick Cheney, interviewed on CNN , would neither confirm nor deny the Times story.

"There were arms, acquired in Iran, being shipped through Hezbollah to elements of the Palestinian Authority. That was clear," he said. "Whether or not there was a deeper level of involvement there, I don't know. We'll have to see. Obviously, it would be of great concern."

The Palestinian Authority says it arrested several officials suspected of involvement in the arms smuggling effort.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Karine A was not an isolated event. He said it was the expression of an alliance.

In return, an Israeli official said, the Iranians wanted influence and a presence on the ground, not necessarily by Iranians but by people who work for them.

Another Israeli security source said the Iranians were especially interested in intelligence information on Israel, especially the location of bases and various operational procedures.

As a part of the partnership, the Palestinians agreed to allow a free hand to the militant Islamic Jihad group to set up a social welfare network, including clinics and schools, in order to win support, the Israeli sources said. The Islamic Jihad has staged numerous suicide bombings against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Iran also has supported the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which for years fought a guerrilla war against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and has periodically staged cross-border operations since Israel withdrew its troops in May 2000.

Israel has long viewed Iran as a major strategic threat and has stepped up its accusations against Tehran, finding the United States more receptive since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Early in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, U.S. officials spoke of better cooperation with Iran; but Washington has since accused Iran of undermining Afghanistan's new government and has been angered by the alleged Iranian involvement in the Karine A affair.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has said that since the Israeli troops pulled out of Lebanon, Iran has been steadily deploying missiles there, all aimed at Israel and manned by Hezbollah fighters.

He said Iran is developing missiles that could reach Europe and North America.