BEIRUT - Hezbollah is denying any links to a ship carrying hundreds of tons of weapons that Israel says was bound for the Iranian-backed guerrilla group.

Israel intercepted the ship Wednesday and said the vessel was carrying weapons from Iran for Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press on Thursday, Hezbollah said it "categorically denies" any connection to the weapons. The statement also said Israel's actions amounted to "piracy."

The seizure spotlighted dangerous tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear program and long-range missile development, dismissing Iranian denials that it is building nuclear weapons.