Israel strives to spark military conflict in the Middle East, according to a stark warning from former Lebanese president Emile Lahoud.

"Israel is trying to create war and conflict in the region with fresh schemes, but the Lebanese nation is alert to the new threat and is able to counter it," said Lahoud in a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Sunday.

"We have to stand united as the future belongs to those nations who fight against oppression and aim for justice," he told the Iranian president.

His remarks come after the release of reports that Tel Aviv has intensified preparations to launch a third war against Lebanon.

Ahmadinejad responded by praising the Lebanese people for their resistance during the 33-day war Israel waged against the country in the summer of 2006.

"Lebanon's enemies are weaker than before, and its people are capable of countering Israeli plots," said Ahmadinejad.

Emile Lahoud (L) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R), Tehran, Oct 2

Emil Lahoud and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met amid growing speculation about a possible Israeli military attack against both countries.

On Saturday, 12 Israeli warplanes again violated Lebanese airspace, flying over northern and southern areas of the country.

Israeli warplanes have repeatedly violated Lebanon's airspace since UN Security Council Resolution 1701 put an end to the July 2006 war.

The Israeli air force has also been preparing for a possible military attack against Iranian nuclear sites.

Pentagon officials revealed in mid June that Israeli warplanes had taken to the skies in the first week of June in what was later cited to be a 'dress rehearsal' for an attack on Iran.

The Israeli Air Force employed over a hundred F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, tactical bombers in the maneuver held 900 miles west of Israel off the southern Mediterranean island of Crete, roughly covering the distance from Israeli airfields to an Iranian uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.

Western countries allege that Iran, a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) poses an existential threat to Israel, despite an unprecedented number of UN nuclear watchdog inspections having found no evidence to support claims that Tehran seeks nuclear weaponry.