UN chief moving ahead with probe of Israeli raid

JERUSALEM - An Israeli official said on Sunday that UN chief Ban Ki-moon is moving ahead with plans for an international commission to investigate Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

Also on Sunday, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards are ready to provide a military escort to cargo ships trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Any intervention by the Iranian military would be considered highly provocative by Israel, which accuses Iran of supplying weapons to Hamas, the Islamist movement which rules Gaza.

Ban wants former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, a maritime law expert, to head the panel, which would include Israeli, Turkish and US representatives, the Foreign Ministry official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because Ban has not announced details.