Iran yesterday denounced a draft UN resolution aimed at ending the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah as a new act against Lebanon.

"The proposed resolution is one-sided and a new political resolution against the Lebanese nation," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters on the sidelines of an international meeting in Tehran.

"The resolution accused Lebanon of starting the crisis, it talks about a ceasefire, but it does not mention the withdrawal of Israeli troops," he said.

"It is natural that we require a stop to an invasion. We support any consensus that all Lebanese agree on," he stressed. Meanwhile, Mottaki criticized Israel by saying that "as long as the regime exists with world powers' support, the region and the world will enjoy no peace."

Earlier in the day, Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham termed the proposed resolution as a threat to the entire region.

"If the idea of deploying NATO forces on Lebanon's territory realized, we believe it is a threat to the whole region," said Elham, adding that international bodies should pass a resolution on probing roots of the problem fairly.

The UN Security Council discussed on Saturday a U.S.-French draft resolution that calls for "full cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which have been involved in a bloody conflict since July 12.

The draft calls for "a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations."

Hezbollah warned on Saturday that Israel must withdraw from Lebanon entirely, or it would not abide by the resolution. The guerrilla group also pointed out that the lack of a timetable for such a withdrawal was perhaps the biggest problem in the text.

The Security Council is expected to hold more rounds of consultations on the draft before it can be put for vote. UN diplomats said they expect the council to adopt a resolution in the next few days.

A second resolution is expected to follow in a couple of weeks after the first one is adopted, setting conditions for a permanent ceasefire and authorizing an international force.