Originally posted by sagedil
Venezuela and Iran I read in the news were considering it. Other countries have tried but ended up at war with us because we didn't want them to, like Iraq. This is still what I believe to be the true reason for the Iraq war.
I think they wanted to:
* Safeguard the American economy by returning Iraq to trading oil in US dollars, so the greenback is once again the exclusive oil currency.
* Send a very clear message to any other oil producers just what will happen to them if they do not stay in the dollar circle. Iran has already received one message -- remember how puzzled you were that in the midst of moderation and secularization, Iran was named as a member of the axis of evil?
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Since the agreements of 1971 and 1973, OPEC oil is exclusively quoted in US dollars. This created a permanent demand for dollars on the international exchange markets.[4] As of 2005, OPEC continues to trade in petrodollars, but some OPEC members (such as Iran and Venezuela) have been pushing for a switch to the euro.
Since the beginning of 2003, Iran has required euro in payment of exports toward Asia and Europe, though prices are still expressed in US dollars [1]. Iran is planning to open an International Oil Bourse (IOB, exchange), on the free trade zone on the island of Kish [2], for the express purpose of trading oil priced in other currencies, including euros.
On May 10, 2006 Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the project for the creation of an Oil Exchange denominated in rubles to trade oil and gas. The purpose of trading in rubles is to convert it into an international currency which would also be used to pay other commodities and goods. The Oil Exchange would operate from 2007 and will give rise to the petroruble as those countries that buy oil and gas from Russia will have to acquire them and use it as reserve.[2][3][4][5]
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