Iran Refuses Aid From Israel

In the wake of the earthquake that flattened the Iranian city of Bam (insert joke here) — which incidentally is pronounced like "bomb" (insert another joke) — Iran has agreed to accept humanitarian aid from the United States:

Khatami, dressed in a black robe of mourning as he visited the area three days after the quake, was asked on the spot by reporters if he would accept Bush's offer of assistance. He answered that, "Yes, aid is aid." He also said that "foreign aid is natural in this kind of situation, and Iran also accepts that." [source]

…but apparently some aid is not aid (the Law of Identity notwithstanding) when it's coming from private organizations in Israel:

Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, a spokesman for Iran's Interior Ministry, said Saturday that Iran would accept aid from all countries of the world, aside from Israel. The announcement followed statements by foreign correspondents in Jerusalem, who reported that the Foreign Ministry had said that unofficial Israeli sources were considering sending aid to Iran. "The Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime [Israel]," Khanjani said. [source]

Huh. I guess beggars can be choosers!