[NYTr] Chavez in Tehran: "Empire of dollar is crashing"

Tue Nov 20 03:29:17 EST 2007

Reuters via Yahoo - Nov 19, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071119/pl_nm/iran_chavez_dollar_dc

Chavez in Tehran: "Empire of dollar is crashing"

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday the "empire of the
dollar is crashing," a day after his country and anti-U.S. ally Iran
advocated action over the weakening U.S. currency during an OPEC summit
in Riyadh.

Chavez, who on Saturday said oil prices could double to $200 per barrel
if the United States attacks Iran over its disputed atomic ambitions,
spoke to reporters after talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.

"Soon we will not talk about dollars because the dollar is falling in
value and the empire of the dollar is crashing," Chavez said in
comments translated into Farsi from Spanish.

"Naturally, by the crash of the dollar, America's empire will crash,"
Chavez said at a joint news conference with Ahmadinejad. The two
presidents share the same viewpoint in denouncing U.S. influence in the
world.

The final statement of the oil cartel's November 17-18 summit in Riyadh
did not include any reference to the falling dollar, in an apparent
victory for U.S.-allied moderates led by Saudi Arabia.

But Iran and Venezuela made clear before and after the summit that they
would press for action, which could include pricing oil in a basket of
currencies, with Ahmadinejad on Sunday calling the dollar a "worthless
piece of paper."

A fall in the value of the U.S. dollar on global markets helped fuel
oil's rally to a record $98.62 on November 7 -- causing the West to
call for more OPEC supplies to cool prices -- but it has also eroded
the purchasing power of OPEC members.

Fears the United States or its ally Israel could attack Iran -- over a
nuclear energy program Washington says is a cover for seeking atomic
weapons -- have also contributed to higher crude prices. Tehran denies
the charge.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Ron
Askew)