BEIRUT, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah denied Israel's accusations that a shipment of arms seized off the Israeli coast was destined for the militant and political group from Iran, the group's al-Manar TV reported on Thursday.

    "Hezbollah staunchly denies any link to the weapons that the Zionist enemy has seized from the Francop ship," the group said ina statement.

    Hezbollah also denounced "Israel's piracy in international waters," according to the statement.

    Israel Defense Forces said that it intercepted the Antigua-flagged cargo ship named Francop carrying weapons and ammunition around 100 nautical miles off the Israeli coast before dawn on Wednesday.

    Israeli defense officials said the ship which was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons was bound for Hezbollah -- the largest arms shipment Israel has ever found.

    The Israeli military said an Iranian document was found on board, showing that the arms shipment was originated from Iran.

    Hezbollah's allies Iran and Syria have both rejected Israel's accusations about the ship's destination and direction of passage.

    The ship was operated by the United Feeder Services (UFS), a Cyprus-based company that had taken the load in the Egyptian port of Damietta.

    An employee of the UFS told al-Manar that the ship had been bound from Damietta to Cyprus and from there to Lebanon and Turkey.

    Israel accuses Hezbollah of rearming after their war in the summer of 2006 and stockpiling tens of thousands of rockets in south Lebanon. But Hezbollah denies Israel's accusations.

    Last week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that all paramilitary groups in Lebanon should be disarmed immediately.