Tehran, March 01: Iran has warned the West against any military intervention in Libya, saying Western countries should not take advantage of the popular movement in Libya to turn the country into a military base.
“We condemn any kind of violence against people in this inhumane form that is underway and we are hopeful that the rulers who are not popular with their people will try to adopt logical methods not to allow their country to go to pieces and their people to be killed in an inhumane way,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Such issues, however, should not provide an excuse for military interference by other countries,” he noted.
Mehmanparast reiterated that other countries, especially those in the West, should not take advantage of the people’s presence on the political scene aimed at determining their fate and said, “They should not try to turn the countries into military bases.”
The Iranian spokesperson also expressed Iran’s readiness to offer assistance to Libya if the groundwork is done.
“We have announced that we are ready to offer any kind of assistance and we can also receive the injured,” he said.
Mehmanparast’s remarks came in response to reports that certain Western countries, including the US, were mulling over the military option against embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The New York Times reported that the United States began moving warships toward Libya on Monday as Washington declared all options, including the military campaign, regarding Gaddafi on the table.
According to the report, Pentagon officials said that military aircraft and ships were being ordered to move into position closer to the Libyan coast.
“As part of our contingency planning to provide the president flexibility on a full range of options regarding Libya, we are repositioning forces in the region,” said Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman.
Several Libyan diplomats were also quoted by news outlets as saying that Britain, France and the US were setting up bases in the eastern Libyan cities of Benghazi and Tobruk — the two oil-rich cities that have been liberated by the opposition forces.
Around 2,000 people have been reportedly killed in the violence in Libya so far despite the regime’s denial that any kind of force has been used against protesters.
——–Agencies