Israeli troops have responded with retaliatory strikes on Lebanon

"We should exert self-restraint in the face of Israeli provocations," he said.

His comments come as international pressure mounts for an end to attacks on Israeli targets by Hezbollah, a militant group backed by both Iran and Syria.

But on Friday, Hezbollah once again fired across the border as US Secretary of State Colin Powell was on a visit to the border region.

Retaliatory strikes

Mr Kharazi arrived in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on Thursday night, amid fears that Hezbollah rocket and mortar bomb attacks might trigger tough Israeli reprisals.

Israel has suggested that retaliatory strikes may be aimed at Syrian as well as Lebanese targets.

Mr Kharazi is to hold talks in Syria later on Friday.

Syria largely shapes Lebanon's foreign policy, and has 20,000 troops in Lebanon.

Iran and Syria have come under increasing international pressure to rein in Hezbollah. Russia joined the United States and the United Nations on Thursday in urging both countries to ease tension on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier.

Guerrillas fired rockets and mortars at Israeli military positions in the Shebaa farms area, while Mr Powell was only 30 kilometres away. No one was hurt in the attack.

Mr Powell said he discussed the cross-border fighting during his talks on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and said the government had already discussed the dispute with the governments of Lebanon and Syria.

"All parties in the region must play a role to restrain any aggressive activities across Israel's northern border," Powell said during a joint press conference with Mr Sharon.

Tit-for-tat

Hezbollah militants began attacking Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms border zone a day after Israel's incursion into the West Bank at the end of March.

Since then Israel has responded with retaliatory air raids on Lebanese towns.

The border region is now the site of almost daily tit-for-tat violence between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

Along with the Lebanese and Syrian authorities, Hezbollah claims the Shebaa Farms area is part of Lebanon from which Israel should have withdrawn when its forces ended their occupation in May 2000.

But Israel says the farms are on the Syrian side of the border and so are part of the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967.