Most people wouldn’t have a clue what that means, but it really got my attention. Are Iran’s oil revenues big enough to make this more than an empty threat? I see the uncoupling of oil being bought/sold in U.S. Dollars as being the catalyst that will bring about the collapse of our whole financial system. Could this be the first step? Would it need many more players (buyers and/or sellers) to sign onto this idea to cause a tipping point? And doesn’t it seem likely the U.S. would go to war to prevent a threat such as this to its hegemony? I have a bad feeling Iran is next in our sights, and the drumbeat to war will start to grow louder if it keeps making threats like this, though our official reason will be to prevent weapons of mass destruction… again.
Actually European countries have been paying oil and gas supplies from Iran in euro for a few years now. Nobody in Washington complained. Same thing when Turkey (NATO member) joined forces with Iran to build a pipeline to carry Iranian natural gas to the Mediterranean.
Now that the EU has passed a number of sanctions on Iran mimicking those implemented by the US (an act rightly called “idiotic” by Iranian authorities) and that European companies are fleeing the country (Total-Elf of France is just the largest and best known) Iran is seriously considering asking European customers to pay their supplies in UAE dhiram.
Frankly I don’t understand all this “bomb Iran” frenzy. Israel is obviously the driving force behind this but they know very well they cannot get the job done short of using nuclear weapons. The US, apart from a few crazed armchair warriors, are obviously reluctant to commit to what is nothing short of folly. But since the Israel lobby has to be kept happy they came up with economic sanctions. Suits me, the US is still the only country refusing to trade with Cuba after more than half century, so they aren’t new to these strokes of genius. What really puzzles me is the European behavior. Iran, despite being run by a despicable government, has always been an excellent trading partner for us. Are we to sacrifice this long standing partnership to appease a country (Israel) which is not only a bad business partner but is known to be so unreliable as to break treaties (the 1969 damage reparation convention with Germany), willingly attack ships belonging to her allies and steal passports from “friendly” countries to commit crimes?