BEIRUT, Lebanon - The militant Hezbollah group is prepared for a new war with Israel but it will not start one, its deputy leader said in remarks published Wednesday.

Naim Kassem, however, warned that Israel will pay "a high price" in any future war.

His comments, published in a Beirut daily close to Hezbollah, followed last month's threat by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate with an "open war" against Israel for the assassination of one of his top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh.

Mughniyeh was killed Feb. 12 in a car bomb in Damascus, capital of neighboring Syria. Hezbollah and Iran, its main backer, blamed his assassination on Israel, which denied any role.

Asked if there will be war, Kassem said: "Hezbollah cannot confirm because it does not want to initiate it." He added: "The Israelis know they have to pay a high price in any war."

Kassem also told Al-Akhbar daily that Hezbollah "is well-prepared to face an Israeli, American and international war."

He was apparently referring to the recent deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, a move the U.S. has said was aimed at protecting its interesting in the region.

Israel launched a war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 after the group seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross border raid. The war killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and 159 on the Israeli side.

After the 34-day war, a 13,500-strong U.N. force, along with 15,000 Lebanese troops, were deployed along the Lebanese-Israeli border to monitor a U.N. cease-fire.

Asked if the deployment of peacekeepers and Lebanese troops will have an effect on Hezbollah's activity, Kassem said the group "was able to adapt to the new reality and has fully rebuilt its force and it is completely ready. This new situation made it (Hezbollah) create new methods."

Earlier this week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council in a report that Israel says Hezbollah is rearming and has an arsenal including 10,000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range rockets in southern Lebanon.

While Ban's report did not confirm Israel's claim, the U.N. chief reiterated his concern about Hezbollah's public statements and persistent reports pointing to breaches of a U.N. arms embargo, which bans weapons transfers to the militant Shiite Islamic militia.

Ban also expressed concern over Nasrallah's "threats of open war against Israel."

In a statement released late Tuesday, Hezbollah criticized Ban's report, saying it lacked objectivity.

Hezbollah said that when Nasrallah spoke of "open war" he also spoke of Hezbollah's "right of self-defense legitimized ... by international laws." The statement said Hezbollah seeks stability but said the situation should be looked at "fairly" without adopting the view of one side, which it said is "not true."