Would Iran’s oil plan to kill the U.S. dollar...?

Would Iran’s oil plan to kill the U.S. dollar start another war in the region?

On the 20th of this month, Iran will commit a far greater "offense" than what the toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein did in the fall of 2002 when he announced shifting Iraq’s oil exports to the euro.

Numerous analyst and U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that the Pentagon has prepared plans for a military strike against Iran, partially to force Iran scrap its nuclear activities and partially due to Iran’s decision to shift to the Euro which will have a devastating impact on the U.S. currency’s hegemony and the once strong economy.

Iran’s plan is to begin competing with New York's NYMEX and London's IPE with respect to international oil trades - using a euro-denominated international oil-trading mechanism. Which will, if the U.S. failed to scruple this plan, allow the euro establish a firm foothold in the international oil trade. And bearing in minds the U.S. debt levels, Iran’s Iran's upcoming euro-based oil Bourse will be an obvious encroachment on U.S. dollar supremacy in global oil market

So in less than three weeks, we’ll see many countries buying and selling oil and gas not only for dollars but also for euros.

The new oil bourse, which will establish a new oil “marker” (oil pricing standard) based on Iranian crude, in open rivalry to the existing West Texas Intermediate, Norway Brent and UAE Dubai markers, all calculated in U.S. dollars, will provide a golden opportunity to countries and companies concerned about having to hold huge amounts of U.S. dollars to finance their oil transactions, stated an editorial on Arab News.

Worried about the huge deficits its economy already suffers, the U.S. knows, and is deeply alarmed by the danger Iran’s new oil bourse means, as it might result in the dollar losing its status as the world’s only reserve currency.

So to prevent the Euro from emerging as an alternative reserve currency, the U.S. government is determined to stop the Iranian experiment.

But some of the U.S. scenario-mongers would resort to a preemptive strike against Iran before it even opens the bourse, the Arab News editorial further states, adding that an alternative scenario could be pushing Israel do the dirty work of for Washington, launching a devastating air strike targeting the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites, recalling what happened with the former Iraqi leader.

A similar initiative taken by Saddam Hussein in 2002 resulted in the quagmire still going in Iraq up till this day, the March 2003 war, although, as analysts stated, no solid evidence had ever linked Hussein’s demand to be paid in euros for Iraq’s oil with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

However, some analysts suggest that the Bush administration might not be planning to attack Iran to stop it from establishing its euro-based oil bourse which stands as a real challenge to the dollar, arguing that the current U.S. government doesn’t worry much about such things.

But in case Washington attacks Iran, whether directly or by having Israel doing it, Iran is definitely ready for a heavy retaliation.

Iran has promised a “crushing response” to any U.S. or Israeli attack. Ironically, Iran doesn’t have the nuclear weapons to scare off attackers, but it does have other options, with ground forces estimated at 800,000 personnel, as well as long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel and Europe.

Also much of the world’s oil supply is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of ocean which Iran borders to the north.

Moreover, attacking Iran will plant the seeds of tension in the already troubled Middle East nation, especially provoking the Shia Community in Iraq.