Fidel Castro, Cuba's 83-year-old revolutionary leader, appeared on Tuesday in a talk show on Cuban state TV for the first time in recent years.
Castro has rarely been seen in public since he underwent intestinal surgery in 2006 and ceded power to his younger brother, Raul, who officially became president in February 2008.
He appeared in videotaped interviews with Cuban television in June and September 2007 and images of his meetings with foreign leaders have been occasionally released.
Wearing a blue track suit top over a dark shirt, Castro attended the La Mesa Redonda (Round Table) talk show, dedicated to the problems of Middle East and North Korea on Monday evening Cuban time, or early on Tuesday in Moscow.
During the show, Fidel said the "imminent" U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran will trigger a major conflict which is likely to become nuclear.
Iran "have been preparing [for military conflict] for 30 years, conducting industrial development, acquiring aircraft, radars, antiaircraft weapons ... They bought all aircraft they were able to buy," he said.
He warned the U.S. of harsh consequences of such an attack.
"They have Russian weapons. They are training all men aged from 12 to 60. And there are 20 million Shiite Muslims," Fidel said.
He also expressed his disappointment about China and Russia's failure to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing an additional set of sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities.
The former Cuban leader also accused the U.S. of sinking South Korea's Cheonan warship and putting the blame on the North.
"The South Korean Navy was performing a maneuver with its ally, the United States... It is hard for the U.S. to admit that they were the ones who sank South Korea's corvette," he said.
The show was hosted by journalist Randy Alonso, who also heads the editorial board of the Cubadebate website, where Fidel publishes his articles.
HAVANA, July 13 (RIA Novosti)
