JERUSALEM - Iran has been supplying Lebanese guerillas with thousands of missiles for an attack on Israel that will apparently be timed to disrupt a possible US strike on Iraq, a senior Israeli official said on Friday.

The missiles, as well as several hundred Iranian Revolutionary Guards, have reached the Hizbollah militia unhindered through Syrian airports and roads, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Syria is the main power in Lebanon.

The Lebanese government dismissed the Israeli reports as propaganda aimed at discrediting Lebanon.

Residents on the Lebanese side of the border said they had seen no evidence that Hizbollah was preparing for war, and a Western diplomat said there were no signs that the guerilla group was stockpiling weapons.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said earlier this year at the United Nations that Iran had supplied Hizbollah with 10,000 rockets with ranges of 21 km to 71 km, converting Lebanon into a powderkeg.

The Israeli official who spoke on Friday said that some of the missiles had a range of more than 80 km, enough to strike at the heart of Israel.

Israeli military and diplomatic officials said Hizbollah, which is labelled a terror group by Washington, apparently was planning to strike Israel to prevent or disrupt a possible US attack on Iraq.

Hizbollah has refused to comment on its military strategy and its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, made no mention of the Israeli claims during a rally on Friday to mark the second anniversary of the Palestinian intifada.

The Israeli official said that despite the historical hostility between Iran and Iraq, Iran was particularly interested in minimising US influence in the region and would use Hizbollah to do so.

'All these connections are going to be fully activated as we approach a pending US attack on Iraq in an effort to prevent the attack or disrupt it,' he said.

'Clearly the Iranians don't want to see the US gain a strong foothold in the Middle East.' --AP

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2002