AGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 2 (Reuters) — The goal of American military action against Iraq would be to control Middle East oil, the world's largest reserves, the official Iraqi News Agency quoted President Saddam Hussein as saying today.
"Why all this American animosity against Iraq?" he was quoted as having said during a meeting with a Belarus official. "Because America believes that if it destroyed Iraq, it would control oil of the Middle East." Then "it will set the price it likes and export it to whomever it likes and in the quantities it chooses."
Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves, followed by Iraq.
Mr. Hussein contended that the European opposition to an American military strike on Iraq came not because those countries wanted to show solidarity with Iraq, but because they realized the attack would harm their interests in the region.