Mr Nelson Mandela has described the United States as a threat to world peace and says any attack on Iraq would be aimed at pleasing US arms and oil industries.
Speaking in an interview with Newsweek,the former South African president accused the United States of making "serious mistakes" in its foreign affairs.
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Mr Nelson Mandela
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He also blamed the rise of the Taliban on the United States, saying it should have backed a moderate government in Afghanistan instead of the mujahideen.
He said the "most catastrophic" US decision was to sabotage a United Nations plan for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan.
Mr Mandela also said the US decision in 1959 to back the Shah of Iran led to the Islamic revolution of 1979. He told Newsweek: "If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.
"Because what America is saying is that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the world. That must be condemned in the strongest terms".
Mr Mandela said a decision to attack Iraq was "a desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America". Mr Mandela quoted former chief UN arms inspector Mr Scott Ritter, who said there was no evidence of Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Mandela said what was known was that Israel possessed such weapons but no one was saying anything about it.
AP