Ahmadinejad: west plans to loot Libya

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that the western powers have hatched a plot to loot Libya's wealth and resources now that the country's revolution has prevailed over Muammar al-Qaddafi's dictatorial rule. Addressing a large gathering of people in the city of Birjand in Northeastern Iran on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad reiterated that the colonial powers have struck an agreement to divide the wealth and resources of Libya, and said they have plotted to dominate the Libyan oil industry and secure their interests in the country's construction and industrial sectors. "You colonialists intend to divide the Libyan nation's wealth and honor (among yourselves) but you should know that you are wrong," Ahmadinejad said. "Today the Libyan nation will pound at the mouth of anybody who has plotted against their country's honor and independence," he added. Iranian officials have earlier cautioned about the true, but hidden, objectives of the West's military intervention in Libya, and called on the regional states to keep vigilant about the plots hatched by the hegemonic powers. "We are suspicious of the presence of the western countries and their intentions (in Libya) and we think that their goals are not explained for real," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said, stressing, "If they had really sought to help people, the innocent Libyan people should not have been killed by the military tools of the western countries." "They make independent decisions to sent military troops to Libya whenever they want and this is against all international regulations and we believe that this sets a very dangerous precedence which has no limits and all countries should confront such self-centered measures," he added. Since the revolution against the killed Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi's regime began in mid-February, hundreds have been killed and injured in clashes between the Libyan revolutionaries and pro-Gaddafi forces. Many civilians have reportedly been killed since the western coalition unleashed a major air campaign against the Libyan regime forces on March 19 under a UN no-fly zone mandate. The western military alliance has refused to apologize for the deadly bombardments.