A lively and healthy-looking Fidel Castro appealed to President Obama to stave off global nuclear war in an emphatic address to the Cuban parliament Saturday that marked his first official government appearance since emergency surgery four years ago.

The Washington Post reported that Castro, who turns 84 in a week, arrived on the arm of a subordinate who steadied him as he walked. The nearly 600 lawmakers present sprang to their feet and applauded as he took the podium, grinning broadly and waving. "Long live Fidel!" they chanted.

Castro has been warning in opinion columns for months that the United States and Israel will launch a nuclear attack on Iran and that Washington could also target North Korea -- predicting Armageddon-like devastation.

"Eight weeks ago, I thought that the imminent danger of war didn't have a possible solution. So dramatic was the problem that I didn't see another way out," Castro told the National Assembly. "I am sure that it won't be like that and, instead . . . one man will make the decision alone, the president of the United States."

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