Iran declaring 'economic warfare'
Announces intent to move away from U.S. dollar
Posted: November 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Iran may have signed a virtual "death warrant" by openly declaring
a governmental decision to move away from the dollar in the
country's foreign-exchange transactions, says WND columnist Jerome
Corsi.
"The Bush administration will see Iran's decision as economic
warfare, a move calculated to weaken the dollar in retaliation for
the U.S. seeking U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran's
continued uranium enrichment," Corsi told WND.
Speaking to reporters at an e-commerce conference in Tehran
Tuesday, Iran's Minister of Economy and Finance Davood Danesh
Jaafari presented the policy as a defensive move aimed at blocking
Washington's ability to monitor and interfere with Iran's conduct
of international business.
(Story continues below)
"Some U.S. banks have been disrupting our dollar transactions for a
long time and Iran, in return, has been decreasing its dependence
on the dollar," Jaafari explained.
The U.S. Treasury in September barred Iran's state-run Bank Saderat
from having any links with U.S.-owned banks because of Iran's
support of terrorism.
As a result of the increasing pressure from the Bush
administration, Iranian banking authorities have complained
European banks are increasingly reluctant to transact Iranian
import and export sales in dollars and to extend open lines of
credit for Iranians in dollars, fearing U.S. penalties. Iran also
is concerned the U.S. government might soon be forced to devaluate
the dollar.
Corsi previously has argued Saddam Hussein "signed his death
warrant" by getting the U.N. to agree Iraq could hold foreign
exchange currency in Euros resulting from "oil for food"
transactions.
Iran's announcement this week will be seen by Washington as a
follow-up to its intention to create an oil bourse pricing oil in
Euros, Corsi believes.
"With our continuing budget and trade deficits, the Bush
administration has to react strongly to any suggestion that world
international markets might move away from dollar transactions or
dollar holdings of foreign exchange currency," he said.
The risk also includes China, Corsi noted.
"With China now holding $1 trillion in their foreign exchange
currency, the recent decision that China intends to diversify their
holdings more into Euros threatens the ability of the U.S. Treasury
to float our budget deficits by selling U.S. government debt into
the foreign exchange currency holdings market," Corsi
explained.
Corsi is concerned the Bush administration has been
"de-industrializing the United States" by pursuing a free trade
policy that allows China to replace U.S. manufacturers with what
Corsi describes as "under-market slave labor or near slave
labor."
"Now with Iran on the verge of announcing the capacity to produce
highly enriched and possibly weapons-grade uranium," Corsi
comments, "we are increasingly vulnerable to Iran spearheading an
anti-American attack on the dollar."
Corsi points out China recently signed a multi-billion dollar deal
"guaranteed to make Iran one of the major suppliers of oil and
natural gas to China for decades to come."
"If China joins Iran in pressuring the dollar, we face dollar
devaluation much faster that the Bush administration has allowed
the U.S. public to know," Corsi said.