Iranian President Mohammad Khatami strongly denied reports that he had shaken hands and chatted with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Katzav at Pope John Paul II's funeral, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

"The reports are false, and I did not have any meeting with those who are from the Zionist regime for I always oppose to do so," Khatami was quoted as saying upon his return from Rome.

"We have repeatedly stated that we do not, both morally and logically, recognize the existence of the Israeli state, which was based on violent deprivation of the Palestinians," he said.

Khatami's denial came one day after Israeli media quoted Katzav who is of Iranian origin as saying that he had shaken hands and exchanged a few words in Persian with Khatami at the Vatican funeral on Friday.

The Iranian president said as long as the legitimate rights of the Palestinians are not recognized, any peace plans for the Middle East will certainly go in vain.

Iran refuses to recognize the Israeli state and has termed the Israeli government as an enemy of the whole Islamic world.

Israel, together with the United States, accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and has threatened to launch preemptive attacks on its nuclear facilities.