Fidel Castro, Cuba's 83-year-old revolutionary leader, called on the U.S. president to avoid military confrontation with Iran during his landmark speech in the Cuban parliament.

Castro, who rarely appeared in public after the 2006 intestinal surgery, took part in his first government function in four years on Saturday.

Wearing a dark green military shirt he made a 90-minute appearance before the country's National Assembly of People's Power which convened for an emergency session on his request.

During his ten-minute speech, Castro reiterated that a military conflict between U.S. and Iran would result in a nuclear conflict and a presidential order to attack Iran would mean "instant death" for millions of people.

Castro said that two month ago he was sure that a war between the U.S. and Iran was imminent, but today he had "hope, and very strong" that the conflict can be avoided.

The Cuban leader, who has rarely been seen in public since ceding power to his younger brother in 2008, made a series of public appearances this summer.

In late July he gave a start to celebrations of the 57th anniversary of the Cuban revolution.

Fidel also released a CD of a collection of his articles from the CubaDebate website and released his new memoir recollecting the moments from 1958 when young revolutionaries liberated the island from Fulgencio Batista's regime.

HAVANA, August 8 (RIA Novosti)