The war between Hezbollah and Egypt....

Egypt knows that Iran is behind the trouble...

State security announced the arrest of 49 suspects, allegedly belonging to Hizbollah, and accused them of planning "hostile operations on Egyptian territory" and recruiting agents to "monitor" shipping in the Suez Canal.

Although based in southern Lebanon, Hizbollah is armed and funded by Iran and Syria. The radical Shia movement, which fought Israel to a standstill in the war of 2006, denied Egypt's claims.

Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader, made a rare television broadcast to confirm that one of those arrested, Sami Chehab, was an operative in the movement. But he said that Mr Chehab posed no threat to Egypt and was only helping the Palestinians to fight Israel.

"Our brother Sami is a member of Hizbollah," said Mr Nasrallah on Al-Manar television, Hizbollah's own satellite channel. "We don't deny this. He was providing logistical help to the Palestinian resistance at the Egyptian-Palestinian border. All other charges are false. If aiding the Palestinians is a crime, then I am proud of it."