TEHRAN -- Iran said on Tuesday that Ariel Sharon's statement to encourage the United States to initiate military attack on Iran after Iraq is the ominous dream of the Israeli war criminal.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said that Sharon's statement (in an interview with the Times of London) indicated that the Zionist regime is exploiting the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States to flame militarism in the international community.

He said that the Zionist regime which has occupied Palestinian territories by force deems its survival on military confrontations and regional conflicts so that it encourages escalation of militarism in a bid to overshadow the critical situation it has faced in the occupied territories.

"While regional countries call for settlement of crisis through peaceful means, the Zionist regime calls for escalation of war and violence. That's why the Islamic republic of Iran regards Israel as the source of tension and conflict in the Middle East," asefi said.

He pointed out that the Zionist regime could not continue trampling upon the rights of Palestinians by tying up its existence with regional and international crises.