West seeks to occupy Mideast under democracy banner

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the West plans to occupy the Middle East under the pretext of establishing democracy in the region.

“They are occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and interfering in Pakistan and Yemen under the pretext of establishing democracy,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on Thursday.

“They claim that they want to establish freedom and human rights but this is a big lie,” Fars News agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

The Iranian president said Iran will not let the Western “dream” of dominating the region materialize.

Ahmadinejad said Iran is “the engine for movement of regional countries.” However, he said that Western powers do not want the regional countries to progress.

“There are states in the Middle East that do not hold any elections and their women are not even permitted to drive a car, but the US and European states support their governments,” he said.

Ahmadinejad said that al-Qaeda is supported by “a certain state” in the Middle East region that has huge oil revenues and receives military and intelligence support from the US.