Hezbollah on Wednesday denied a White House accusation that it sought to topple Lebanon's government with help from Syria and Iran.

The group accused Washington of interfering in Lebanese politics by trying to shore up Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's government.

"It is just one more American interference in Lebanese affairs," chief Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahhal told al-Arabiya television.

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Hezbollah and its allies demands for a "national unity" Cabinet in Lebanon "has nothing to do with Syria and Iran," he said.

Syria's ambassador to Washington firmly rejected the claims as ridiculous and baseless.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, accused the White House of intervening in internal Lebanese affairs.

"The Lebanese are noble and democratic, something that entitles them to dialogue and consultation - not the advice of those who protect Israel," he said.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow had said that any bids to overthrow the democratically-elected Lebanese government through tactics including violence or physical threats to Lebanese leaders would be a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and three United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"Support for a sovereign, democratic, and prosperous Lebanon is a key element of U.S. policy in the Middle East. We are therefore increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically-elected government led by Prime Minister Siniora," the White House said in a statement.

"Any attempt to destabilize Lebanon's democratically-elected government through such tactics as manufactured demonstrations and violence, or by physically threatening its leaders would, at the very least, be a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559, 1680, and 1701," the statement said.

Hezbollah on Wednesday threatened demonstrations to force early elections in Lebanon if its demands were not met for a "national unity" cabinet that would give the militants and their allies veto power over key decisions.

The effort seems certain to further exacerbate an already tense political situation in Lebanon, where the Western-backed Siniora government has refused earlier Hezbollah calls to step down and allow the formation of a new Cabinet.

It could also lead to violence, with pro-government groups warning of a confrontation with militants in the streets.

"Our concept of the national unity government is that all the basic forces in Lebanon be in it ... actual and serious participation, not an aesthetic participation," Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a three-hour interview on his group's television channel Al-Manar on Tuesday night.

In the face of Nasrallah's ultimatum, government supporters have threatened counter-protests, raising fears of a repeat of the kind of sectarian clashes between Lebanon's Sunnis, Shiites, Druze and Christians that ravaged the country during its 1975-90 civil war.

Leaders of the anti-Syrian factions have repeatedly warned of violence if Hezbollah supporters pour into the streets.

The move, if successful, would significantly raise Hezbollah's standing in the cabinet, where it and its Shiite ally, Amal, currently have five ministers. Such veto power and influence in decision-making would also bolster their standing in the 128-seat parliament, where the group and its allies hold less than half the seats, compared to 70 seats held by the anti-Syrian majority.

Prime Minister Siniora has repeatedly rejected the idea of a new government, contending that his cabinet achieved much for the country and did its best to stop the war. His supporters say that Hezbollah and its backers, in pushing for greater political power, are doing Damascus' bidding and are trying to undermine the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

Walid Jumblatt, a member of parliament, was quoted by Lebanese newspapers Wednesday as warning during a visit to Washington that "threats by some forces in Lebanon to resort to street [protests] in order to bring down the government" would "lead to anarchy."

Nasrallah has played down any fears of violence in the threatened street protests, saying his campaign would be peaceful.

The Hezbollah chief further threatened to press for early general elections in the hope of winning a majority that would turn the current anti-Syrian majority in parliament into a minority, and elect a pro-Syrian premier.

Nasrallah's comments however "do not reflect ... the political resistance the government had played to ensure the Israeli withdrawal," Siniora said Wednesday, referring to the Israeli pullout from southern Lebanon after the recent conflict with Hezbollah.

Observers say Hezbollah and its ally the Shiite Amal movement are aiming to gain control of at least a third of the cabinet, which would give them the ability to veto cabinet votes.

Next week's talks are widely seen as the last chance to avert a showdown on the streets and threaten Lebanon's stability.

In a related development, sources close to senior Christian political figure General Michel Aoun have claimed that negotiations are underway to prevent any demonstrations by enlarging the current cabinet.

The plan would see the appointment of ministers loyal to Aoun, himself a Hezbollah ally, as well as other representative currently outside the government, the sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"The negotiations are on the right track and we will probably be discussing the names of the new ministers," the sources said. Hezbollah currently has two ministers in Siniora's cabinet.