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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Hamas, with support from Syria and Iran, is trying to ''torpedo'' peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

Meeting reporters after having breakfast with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Cheney said, ''It is clearly a difficult situation, in part, because I think it's true, there's evidence, that Hamas is supported by Iran and Syria and that they're doing everything they can to torpedo the peace process.''

Cheney said in his meeting with Palestinian leaders on Sunday they talked about efforts under way in Yemen to encourage reconciliation between moderate and militant Palestinians.

''My conclusion after talking about this with the Palestinians is that they have established some preconditions before they would ever consider a reconciliation, including a complete reversal of the Hamas takeover of Gaza,'' he said.

Asked whether the U.S. supports the Yemeni mediation effort to bridge differences between Hamas and Fatah, a senior administration official traveling with Cheney said the United States has made it clear that it will not support working with Hamas unless there is a fundamental change in the group's current role, which the U.S. describes as terrorist.

The official commented on condition of anonymity to more freely discuss U.S. policy.

An Israeli official on Monday said Israel would halt peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if he reconciles with Hamas. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

Iran and Syria to some extent are marching in lockstep to foment trouble in the region, the official said, adding that they have resupplied Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon with a significant inventory of weapons since the summer of 2006 and that these weapons have become increasingly sophisticated in terms of range and accuracy. He said the two countries, Syria in particular, are clearly operating to deny the Lebanese the opportunity to govern themselves.

Commenting on the 4,000th American death in Iraq, Cheney said the milestone may have a psychological impact on the American public.

''You regret every casualty, every loss,'' he said. ''The president is the one that has to make that decision to send young men and women into harm's way. It never gets any easier.''

In recalling his talks last week with the king of Saudi Arabia, Cheney would not say whether he had asked the Saudis to increase oil production. President Bush publicly urged the Saudis to produce more to reduce pressure on rising oil prices when he was in the region in January.

Cheney said the Bush administration met with the Saudi king and oil minister about three years ago in Texas and talked about the world oil market. He said at that time the Saudis agreed to increase their capacity to produce oil by 2.5 million barrels a day from what was then 10.5 million barrels. ''They kept their word,'' he said, adding that the capacity is now about 11.8 million barrels and that at the end of 2009 is expected to be 12.5 million.

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