Al-Hariri, right, said he was confident that his party and its allies would win Lebanon's election [EPA]

On Tuesday, al-Hariri said that a win for Hezbollah could have "consequences" for Lebanon, but said he was confident his party and its March 14 alliance allies, would win.

"If Hezbollah wins and its coalition - the 8th March - I think it will have consequences on the country," he said, although he would not specify what those consequences might be.

"But I have faith in God and the people of Lebanon. I'm not thinking of losing. I didn't run in this election to lose."

He said that his party and its allies, a coalition broadly opposed to Syrian influnce on the country and named after the date of Lebanon's Cedar revolution, were campaigning on economic issues.

"We want to give every single Lebanese a job," he said.

Hezbollah angered

Tensions have risen in Lebanon ahead of the June 7 election, which could see the Western-backed government unseated by the Hezbollah-led opposition, supported by Iran and Syria.

Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, reacted angrily on Monday to a report in the German Der Spiegel magazine that alleged Hezbollah had been involved in the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, Saad's father and a former prime minister of Lebanon.

The Hezbollah leader said the report was part of an "American-Israeli scheme" to stir up Sunni-Shia strife and provoke a fight between Arabs and Persian Iran.

Der Spiegel's report quoted an unnamed source as saying that the UN-backed tribunal into the assassination had found evidence which suggested Hezbollah had a role in the Beirut bombing that killed Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 other people in February 2005.

Responding to the report, Israel's foreign minister said that an international arrest warrant should be issued for Nasrallah.

'Suspicious' report

Michel Sleiman, Lebanon's president, described the report as "suspicious" and said it harmed the work of the UN tribunal that is investigating the killings.

Suleiman added that he was confident the tribunal would not be used for political purposes.

After al-Hariri's death, many blamed Syria, which had long dominated Lebanese affairs. Syria denied it had a role.

Walid al-Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, dismissed the report as "trash".

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