The deepening political crisis between Lebanon's pro-Western prime minister and the Hezbollah militant group could lead to street protests in a matter of days, a leading independent newspaper said Monday.

Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has urged his followers to prepare for mass demonstrations to topple the government if it ignores the group's demand to form a national unity Cabinet, in which Hezbollah and its allies would have considerable influence and would be able to block major decisions.

He didn't set a date for the protests to begin. But the independent daily An-Nahar newspaper said Monday the next three days were crucial for mediators to resolve the dispute before opposition groups take to the streets. The paper said that could happen as early as Thursday - a day after the nation marks Independence Day.

A Hezbollah legislator, Hussein Haj Hassan, reaffirmed the threat Monday, saying there would be a popular movement to "bring down the government" if a national unity government is not formed or early elections called.

He also refused to say when the protests might start, but said the militant group was still "hoping for a compromise."

The Saudi ambassador, Abdul-Aziz Ghoja, made a fresh bid Monday to break the deadlock, meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally. He met with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora on Sunday.

On Sunday, Nasrallah accused the government of Saniora, which is backed by the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, of falling under the influence of the President Bush's administration. He also called the government "illegitimate" and "unconstitutional."

Washington has accused Hezbollah backers Iran and Syria of seeking to topple the Saniora government and attempting to block the formation of an international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose son leads the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament. Both Iran and Syria have denied the charges.

A U.S. State Department spokesman repeated the accusations Monday, saying Syria continues to interfere in Lebanese affairs. "We definitely want to see that stopped, and certainly don't want to see again any other outside actors, including Iran," deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

He said the Lebanese people must determine for themselves who will be included in their government, but added: "It is important that the rules of the game be followed, that the constitution be followed, that electoral processes be followed."

Political and sectarian tensions have been mounting in Lebanon as a result of a power struggle between rival factions intensified by Hezbollah's 34-day war with Israel this summer. The crisis has deepened since late October when Nasrallah began threatening mass protests unless Hezbollah's demand for a national unity government was met.

Negotiations among groups broke down last week, and six Cabinet ministers, including two from Hezbollah, resigned.

Despite Nasrallah's pledges of peaceful action, the country has been gripped with fears that protests could turn into clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters.

Walid Jumblatt, a prominent Druse politician in the anti-Syrian coalition, has warned that Hezbollah's planned protests amounted to "a coup" and said the Shiite Muslim followers and sympathizers of the group also could resort to mass resignations from the public service and parliament or mount a civil disobedience campaign.