Speaking to AFP, he said: "I said the war in Iraq would open the doors of hell and it did. This time, it would bring the whole of the Middle East into hell itself."

Mussa added that "any military action now anywhere in the Middle East is to be discouraged."

His comments were echoed by the United Nations nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said Friday that military action would be "bonkers".

There is increased speculation that either the United States or Israel could eventually decide to bomb Iran in order to prevent it from making nuclear weapons.

The UN Security Council imposed sanctions at the end of last year to get Iran to stop uranium enrichment, which produces fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but also the explosive core of atom bombs.

Moussa, head of the Arab League since 2001, also called for a six-month deadline to be imposed for the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, stressing that 2007 was a vital year for negotiations.

"There has to be a time limit and an endgame. Everyone needs to agree to give ourselves six months," he said. "It has to be this year."

He said 2007 was essential because of presidential elections in the United States in 2008, which would paralyse US involvement in the conflict.