Leaders of key Muslim countries have been invited to attend a meeting in Malaysia to discuss the escalating Middle East crisis on August 3, Indonesia's foreign ministry said today.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said earlier this week that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) could hold an executive committee meeting at the leaders level to discuss the crisis.

"It will be a one-day emergency meeting of the executive committee which will focus on the Middle East crisis and be attended by state leaders, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," foreign ministry spokesman Desra Percaya told AFP .

Malaysia is the current chair of the Saudi Arabia-based pan-Islamic group.

Syed Hamid said on Monday he had asked OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu whether such a meeting was possible. The OIC has not yet issued a statement on the crisis.

Little time

The Malaysian minister has said there was too little time to arrange a full emergency meeting.

Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called last weekend for an emergency gathering of the group to discuss the conflict between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah militia based in southern Lebanon.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers were attending in Kuala Lumpur today Asia's top security meeting, the Asean Regional Forum, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Israel launched its offensive against Lebanon on July 12 after Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran and its main regional ally Syria, seized two Israeli soldiers in a deadly raid.