Rogue traders or spy heroes? Ofer family mystery deepens

The companies' spokesmen insisted that all their trade with Iran had been done with the knowledge and authorisation of the government, although the Prime Minister's Office and the Defence Ministry both denied this.

At the same time, anonymous sources began feeding the press with tips on co-operation between the Ofers and the Israeli intelligence services that had allegedly taken advantage of the presence of the ships in Iranian ports.

The family's PR campaign reached a climax last Wednesday, when, in a rare public appearance, the former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, said in a lecture at Tel Aviv university that the Ofers were being unfairly targeted and "had not broken any laws".

Exactly what Israeli intelligence did with the Ofers in Iran is still the subject of speculation, mainly in publications outside Israel, and versions range from the infiltration of agents, through to secretly transporting helicopters that were used on covert operations deep within Iran. "Too much has already been said about this, and we will regret this pointless publicity that has caused damage to Israel's security interests," said one former senior commander in Military Intelligence.

The debate over whether the Ofers are rapacious traders, prepared even to trade with Israel's mortal enemy to make a fast buck, or patriots willing to put their firm at the nation's disposal, was put on hold last Friday when the founder of the family's shipping business, Sami Ofer, died at the age of 89.