Iran FM to Head to Libya to Bolster Ties

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is to travel to Libya to boost ties with the country's new leaders following an international conference in Turkey Wednesday on Afghanistan, Tehran said.

"After Turkey, the foreign minister will go to Libya to boost bilateral relations," the Iranian government said in a statement on its website, giving no further details.

Salehi was invited to Libya in August by the country's National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who was in turn invited to visit Tehran.

Iran took a dual approach to the conflict that raged in Libya this year, voicing support for the rebellion that toppled late dictator Moammar Gadhafi while stridently denouncing the NATO air operations that handed success to the revolutionaries.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week the West's objective "is to take control of Libya" and "plunder its wealth."

He said that "NATO forces intervened under the pretext of helping Libyans... and have turned Libya into ruins."