Menon’s mission in Teheran
By Sandhya Jain
The sinking dollar is an undeniable fact, as is the rising euro; and this has triggered off an international trend of diversification of currency transactions. Already the currency units of different nations are joining the pool of major reserve currencies.
New Delhi has done well to send foreign secretary S.S. Menon to Teheran to mend fences following sharp deterioration of ties as a result of India’s vote against with the Islamic Republic at the International Atomic Energy Agency. With growing turmoil in the American economy following mounting foreign debts to the tune of $ five trillion and the inability to afford a new war in West Asia, the White House has produced a new intelligence report ‘revealing’ that Iran closed its nuclear weapons programme as far back as 2003!
The implications are ominous. One, it is inconceivable this report would not have been furnished to the White House in 2003 itself by the combined intelligence services. Hence, President George Bush’s war-mongering over the past few years that Iran was engaged in uranium enrichment for weapons grade uranium, was pure lies with a view to unilateral military action as in Iraq. Two, the strategy of a new war is now felt to be unviable in view of the increasing reluctance of American citizens to sacrifice their kith and kin in mercenary wars to batten the profits of the oil corporates. This is a serious indictment of American diplomacy and the credibility of its polity, which is unable to distinguish between national interests and corporate interests.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad showed great shrewdness and courage in withstanding American pressure and refusing to trade oil in the dollar. Oil minister G. Nozari justified the move as oil-exporting countries the world over are losing money as the dollar is falling in value. Others say the dollar as international trade standard has hitherto enabled the US to exert pressure on individual nations, and hence this is a necessary political corrective.
Indeed, this is why Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are advocating a more reliable currency for trade in crude oil. So far, the pro-American OPEC nations have not openly supported this move, and Saudi Arabia last month blocked the Iran and Venezuela proposal to discuss refusal to sell crude for US dollars. Yet it is learnt that six Persian Gulf countries plan to reconsider the proposal of using other currencies in crude trade deals.
On its part, the Russian giant Gazprom plans potential sales of crude and natural gas for Russian roubles instead of dollars or euros. Russian oil companies claim they loose in long-term contracts as the dollar loses 15 per cent to 20 per cent value at its current rate of depreciation. From January 2007, the dollar lost nearly 10 per cent of its value, while the euro gained 12.5 per cent over the dollar.
The sinking dollar is an undeniable fact, as is the rising euro; and this has triggered off an international trend of diversification of currency transactions. [more]