Iran leader warns of 'hurricane' in Middle East

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned today that the conflict between Lebanon and Israel could sweep through the entire Middle East like a hurricane.

"If (problems) are decided through the use of force, everything becomes double-complicated," Ahmadinejad told a news briefing in the capital of ex-Soviet Tajikistan.

"He who sows the wind will reap a hurricane and this will be a very strong storm in the whole Middle East region, which will strike painfully," he added.

Iran backs Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group, whose capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12 sparked Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.

- REUTERS