Former US president Mr Jimmy Carter warned in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech today that a preventive war could have "catastrophic" consequences.
However, he stopped short of directly naming Iraq or the United States.
Mr Carter (78), a critic of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy, instead referred to "powerful countries" whose war-making could spell doom in the age of nuclear weapons.
"For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences," he said in a speech at the ceremony where he received this year's Peace Prize.
"We must remember that today there are at least eight nuclear powers on earth, and three of them are threatening to their neighbours in areas of great international tension," he said.
AFP