|
Chavez in Tehran: "Empire of
dollar is crashing"
By Reuters
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on
Monday the "empire of the dollar is crashing," a day after his
country and "anti-U.S." ally Iran advocated action over the
weakening U.S. currency during an OPEC summit in Riyadh.
Chavez, who on Saturday said oil prices could double to $200 per
barrel if the United States attacks Iran over its disputed
atomic ambitions, spoke to reporters after talks with his
Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"Soon we will not talk about dollars because the dollar is
falling in value and the empire of the dollar is crashing,"
Chavez said in comments translated into Farsi from Spanish.
"Naturally, by the crash of the dollar, America's empire will
crash," Chavez said at a joint news conference with Ahmadinejad.
The two presidents share the same viewpoint in denouncing U.S.
influence in the world.
The final statement of the oil cartel's November 17-18 summit in
Riyadh did not include any reference to the falling dollar, in
an apparent victory for U.S.-allied moderates led by Saudi
Arabia.
But Iran and Venezuela made clear before and after the summit
that they would press for action, which could include pricing
oil in a basket of currencies, with Ahmadinejad on Sunday
calling the dollar a "worthless piece of paper."
A fall in the value of the U.S. dollar on global markets helped
fuel oil's rally to a record $98.62 on November 7 -- causing the
West to call for more OPEC supplies to cool prices -- but it has
also eroded the purchasing power of OPEC members.
Fears the United States or its ally Israel could attack Iran --
over a nuclear energy program Washington says is a cover for
seeking atomic weapons -- have also contributed to higher crude
prices. Tehran denies the charge.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by
Ron Askew)
Click on "comments" below to read or post comments
Comment Guidelines
Be succinct, constructive and
relevant to the story.
We encourage engaging, diverse
and meaningful commentary. Do not include
personal information such as names, addresses,
phone numbers and emails. Comments falling
outside our guidelines – those including
personal attacks and profanity – are not
permitted.
See our complete
Comment Policy
and
use this link to notify us if you have concerns
about a comment.
We’ll promptly review and remove any
inappropriate postings.
Send Page To a Friend
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
|
