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Abdo: Iran is trying to save face, not wage war
Abdo: Iran is trying to save face, not wage war
Editor’s Note: Geneive Abdo is the director of the Iran program at The Century Foundation. Reza H. Akbari, the research associate for the program, contributed to this article.
By Geneive Abdo – Special to CNN
As Iran issued another threat on Tuesday, this time to take action if the U.S. Navy returns an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, it might seem that the government in Tehran is begging for a military attack.
Why else would the Iranian regime test fire a cruise missile during exercises in the Persian Gulf on Monday? Why would it threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz two weeks ago while also conducting 10 days of military exercises to show off Iran’s military might? In addition, Iran’s nuclear agency said its scientists had produced their first nuclear rod, despite tough sanctions from the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
But Iran is not begging for a military confrontation. It’s recent aggression is due, in fact, to its fear of a pending military attack. My sources inside the country say the circle of regime insiders around Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei truly believes an attack is inevitable, perhaps even before the U.S. presidential election. Therefore, to save face at home and in the region, Iran’s saber-rattling has reached a fever pitch.
In order not to appear weak in light of the pressure coming from the United States, Iran is determined to show it maintains the upper hand, which it tries to demonstrate through its military exercises, threats and hostile rhetoric. But such behavior, which Iran believes demonstrates its strength and some in the United States view as aggression, should not be misunderstood as Iran provoking the United States to launch a military attack.
The more candidates running for election in the United States publicly endorse a military attack, and the more the Obama administration is forced to appear hawkish, the more the Iranian regime works to prepare for what insiders believe will be a hit on the country’s nuclear facilities if not the population.
Despite the fact that the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic has depended upon an ideologically-driven foreign policy for more than thirty years – no normalized relationship with the United States and no recognition of the state of Israel – this in no way means Iran wants a military conflict. There is a difference in finding virtue in the distance between Iran and Western powers, as the regime has done since the Islamic revolution, and risking self-destruction.
As much as American pundits and politicians highlight the hostile statements coming from Tehran, a closer examination reveals Iran’s backpedalling in recent days.
Iran’s vice president appeared definitive when he threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if further sanctions are imposed on Tehran. “If we cannot export oil, not a drop will be allowed to be exported by anyone else,” said Muhammad Reza Rahimi, Iran’s first assistant president.
But since then, commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have retreated somewhat by explaining that passage through the Strait is a weapon Iran would use only if necessary. “We will respond to any threat by intensified threat and this fact has no time or geographical limitations,” said Brigadier General Hossein Salami, Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC. He added, “Our response to threats is threats.”
Another IRGC commander also backed away from threats to close the Strait. Masoud Jazayeri, a powerful general, tried to retreat from the brink by saying such talk is five years old and Iran has other options to defend itself “when the time comes.”
American policy makers and pundits should use their imagination to see the view from Tehran. Influential Americans sound the daily call for action to be taken against Iran, even though most fail to explicitly spell out the details. Compound this with a long-standing belief of Supreme Leader Khamenei that the United States’ objective has always been regime change in Iran. The small circle around Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader himself believe they are engaged in a new cold war, which has been hotter than that between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, characterized by covert operations inside their country including the assassinations of nuclear scientists, a computer virus and attacks on Islamic Revolutionary Guards posts.
These Iranians belief that this “soft war” is a prelude to real war on the horizon.
Despite the failures of President Obama’s engagement policy with Iran during the early period of his administration, there was one important success, which is often forgotten: Obama managed to convince at least part of the Iranian people that the United States was not in conflict with them, but their government. This message found particular resonance with at least some young Iranians who want to become part of the globalized world. However, with the approval of the most recent sanctions on Iran’s central bank, it is likely Iran’s business class will blame Obama. They have witnessed a depreciation of 10 percent in their currency just in the last week.
Now, Khamenei and his hard-line loyalists have just received the evidence to undo this delicate and newfound trust between Americans and Iranians. Both Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent months have used the bellicose rhetoric from Washington to argue at home that the United States is at war with the Iranian people. This serves many useful purposes for the regime, including justifying repression against those who are accused of being “spies” for the United States who in reality are working toward positive change in Iran.
But in the end, Iran wants to move away from the brink. Cooler heads in Washington should do their part to end the escalation of hostility before the regime’s perception becomes reality.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of Geneive Abdo.
In US, growing talk of a possible war with Iran
4 January 2012
WASHINGTON - Fed by diplomatic tensions and election-year politics, talk about a coming conflict with Iran has reached a fever pitch in the US capital.
Speculation of a possible war with Iran ebbs and flows, but a confluence of events has served to fuel dire predictions among politicians and pundits that war may be on the horizon — either by necessity or by accident.
Some of the same hawkish voices that portrayed Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq as a dire threat requiring urgent military action are now warning that the United States must be prepared for war with Iran, while accusing President Barack Obama of lacking backbone.
John Yoo, a former Justice Department official under ex-president George W. Bush, has called on Republican presidential candidates to ‘begin preparing the case for a military strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.’
Calling it an ‘unavoidable challenge,’ Yoo wrote last week in the National Review that the United States would have legal grounds to strike at Iran’s nuclear sites — similar to the arguments made before the invasion of Iraq.
‘It can argue that destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons is a combination of self-defence and protecting international security,’ said Yoo, who during Bush’s tenure backed broad presidential powers to wage war and deny rights to terror suspects.
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has made a clear commitment to use military force if necessary, promising that if he wins the White House, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.
Both in the United States and Israel, lawmakers and commentators warn that time is running out on the Iranian ‘nuclear clock’ and that at some point over the next year, economic sanctions will have to be abandoned in favor of bombing raids to stop Iran from securing the bomb.
Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republicans have said any US military action would have to be broader than a few ‘surgical’ strikes on nuclear facilities.
‘Their capability is so redundant you’d have to do more than go after the nuclear program, you have to neuter this regime, destroy the air force, sink their navy, go after the Revolution Guard and try to get people in the country to overthrow the regime. We need a regime change,’ Graham told the CBS show ‘Face the Nation’ in November.
‘If they get a nuclear weapon the world is going to go into darkness,’ he said.
Despite rising tensions with Teheran and tough rhetoric from lawmakers, US military and defence chiefs have warned repeatedly that air strikes on Iran would, at best, only delay Teheran’s nuclear efforts by a few years while carrying huge risks.
Analysts who oppose military action worry the United States could stumble into a war with Iran because a strategy focused on pressure and punitive sanctions may leave no diplomatic way out of the crisis.
‘We are in such an escalatory cycle, if we just continue on this path much longer, we will essentially sleepwalk into a war,’ Trita Parsi, author of a book on US policy toward Iran, told AFP.
In ‘A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran,’ Parsi argues the Obama administration tried a diplomatic approach but gave up too soon, partly because the Iranian regime’s crackdown on street protests in 2009 made it politically impossible for the White House to pursue an opening with Teheran.
‘It made a bad atmosphere much, much worse,’ said Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council.
Obama faces similar political pressures that plagued former president Bill Clinton over Iraq in the 1990s, when Republicans blasted sanctions on Saddam Hussein as ineffective, according to Parsi.
Some US officials privately worry about sliding into an unintended war, as does Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security advisor during Jimmy Carter’s presidency in the 1970s.
‘We think we are going to avoid war by moving towards compulsion,’ Brzezinski said last month.
‘But the more you lean towards compulsion, the more the choice becomes war if it doesn’t work. That narrows our options in a very dramatic way.’
Shortly before retiring, the former top-ranking US officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, worried a lack of communication between the two countries’ militaries could turn an incident into a potential conflict.
‘We are not talking to Iran. So we don’t understand each other,’ Mullen said in September. ‘If something happens, it’s virtually assured that we won’t get it right, that there will be miscalculations.’
RJ here is Proof I comitted TOU. Here is ALL of my posts and you will not find any TOU reason. I know this wan not you doing this it was Aero/Matt. Just wanted you to see.
07/23/2008
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HELLO everyone ... I am new to this board. I own a fare amount of Dinar and have since the beginning of 2005. I did not know this board existed. I look at the Dinar as my retirement money
Does anyone have anything that says that the Dinar is due to shoot anytime soon. Or are we still at a slow crawl.
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1/17/2008
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&q=Freedom%20to%20Fascism&hl=en
Yeah, I'll unbookmark the board. Didnt want to see a board go to long without a post.
Still got the Dinars, and Dongs going strong.
Trav.
Yeah I am still waiting...playing a few others while we wait!
new?,...nothing i can see,...and you ?
still waiting for the Dinars to take off,...
Anything new around here?
Syria Hosts Confab
On Iraq Security
DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug. 8--A two-day international security conference on Iraq, which brings together representatives of Iraq’s neighbors and the international community, including the US and Iran, opened in the Syrian capital on Wednesday.
The meeting grew out of a May conference on Iraq held at the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, at which working groups on refugees, energy and border security were formed, Alalam.ir reported.
Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid said the aim of the conference is to help the Iraqi people overcome the crisis and preserve their territory.
The meeting includes delegates from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Russia, China, Britain, France, the United States as well as the Arab League and the United Nations.
It is being held just as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki arrived in Iran on a visit aimed at boosting friendly ties with the Islamic Republic.
Abdul-Majeed stressed, prior to the conference, that his country had tightened its security measures along its borders with Iraq to prevent the infiltration of Arab fighters.
Syria opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Since then, it is hosting an estimated 1.4 million Iraqi refugees who have fled Iraq.
Call for Implementing Tehran-Baghdad Agreements
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki (r) was
officially welcomed by Iran's Vice-President Parviz Davoudi in Tehran, Aug. 8.
TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Tehran and Baghdad on Wednesday called for speedy implementation of the agreements signed by the two sides during the visit of Iran’s First Vice President Parviz Davoudi to Iraq.
Senior Iranian and Iraqi officials in a meeting headed by Davoudi and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki stressed the need for using all facilities to promote mutual cooperation and remove existing impediments, IRNA reported.
Davoudi and aliki stressed the development of cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad in the fields of industry, energy, commerce, trade and economy, given the two countries’ abundant capabilities.
Davoudi said, “Iran has always tried to restore security to Iraq because the country’s security will benefit both Iran and the region.“
He said Iran is ready to contribute to Iraq’s reconstruction and promotion of security.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Davoudi called for the pullout of foreign troops from Iraq.
“The Iraqi people and youth, through hard work, high spirit and strong motivation, can prepare the ground for the withdrawal of occupiers from their homeland and guarantee security in the country,“ Davoudi said.
The vice president said Iranian technicians and entrepreneurs are ready to contribute to projects related to refinery construction, petrochemical, hospital building, water and sewerage, power, telecommunications and scientific projects in Iraq.
Maliki said Iraq wants to use Iran’s experience in many fields, including power transmission, swap of oil derivatives and completion of power plants.
He hoped Iranian companies would invest in and contribute to implementation of development and infrastructural projects in Iraq.
Russia Urged to Complete Bushehr Plant
TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad Adel said he hopes Russia will honor its commitment to complete Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in the coming months.
Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Haddad stressed that the Bushehr project is a symbol of cooperation between Iran and Russia, IRNA reported.
Emphasizing that the completion of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will positively influence public opinion in Iran, the speaker pointed out that any delay in the project will have a negative impact on the Iranian government and nation.
Asked about the recent allegations of a US lawmaker and Republican presidential hopeful, Tom Tancredo, who said the holy sites of Mecca and Medina should be bombed as a retaliatory measure for possible attacks on the US, Haddad said such statements are so baseless that he will not comment on them.
Commenting on Article 44 of the constitution, Haddad pointed out that if the article is implemented, it will lead to a huge economic revolution.
Asked about the planned transfer of Iran’s gas to India and Pakistan, he noted that the peace pipeline is very important from different perspectives and Iran considers its national interests in any contract with foreign countries.
Russia has put new conditions on supplying nuclear fuel for the Bushehr plant it is building in Iran, claiming that Tehran must clear up questions over possible military atomic development.
Russian officials said on July 25 that Bushehr might not be completed until late 2008, which would put off the completion date by a year.
Delivering fuel is the last stage in activating the power plant. Construction at Bushehr had stalled earlier this year over inaccurate Russian charges that Iran was not paying its bills for the project.
US Officials: Britain Has Lost in Basra
32 Killed
In Sadr City
BASRA, Iraq, Aug. 8--American officials believe British forces have been defeated in Basra.
A senior US intelligence official told The Washington Post on Tuesday that British commanders had allowed militias loyal to three Shiite Muslim groups take control of the city’s streets.
“The British have basically been defeated in the south,“ he said, www.telegraph.co.un reported.
British officials in Basra reject the notion that UK troop levels in the southern Iraqi province had been cut too fast.
The report said a contingent of 500 British troops based at Basra Palace was “surrounded like cowboys and Indians“.
The rebuke highlights the increasing violence in Basra, one of four provinces handed over to British control after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Three of the four provinces have been pacified and handed back to local leaders; Basra, the most populous, is due to be returned by the end of the year.
In a stark reminder of the deteriorating security situation, two British soldiers were killed in the province on Tuesday.
Britain’s former governor of Basra, Sir Hilary Synnott, said the US criticism was payback for British claims two years ago that Basra was a success while Washington had failed in Baghdad.
“It’s not so long ago that some members of the British government were boasting that Basra was doing very well, better than Baghdad. That was very unwise.“
Meanwhile, US-led forces swooped into the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City on Wednesday, killing 32 suspected militants and detaining 12 others in fighting and an airstrike targeting alleged smuggling networks from Iran.
Iraqi police and witnesses said nine civilians were killed in the attack.
Iranian Rial.
Saw this little tidbit about Iran…
“Monetary policy aims to manage money supply, inflation and interest to affect output and employment. Inflation is decrease in value of a specific currency over time and caused by dramatic increases in money supply. The interest rate is an important tool used to control inflation and economic growth in monetary economics.
The Central Bank is responsible for monitoring and controlling money supply, interest rates and banking.”
“For instance, liquidity was around 170,000 billion rials in year 2000, 500,000 billion rials in 2005 and 950,000 rials in 2006.”
Notice: those numbers are in thousands of billions, so that’s trillions.
Iran has 950 trillion M2
“TEHRAN, Oct 16: Iran’s foreign currency reserves held in foreign banks have risen by almost 40 per cent to $52.3 billion due to high oil prices, the press on Monday quoted a central bank report as saying.”
Iran has 950 trillion M2
Iran has 52 billion in foreign currency reserves.
Exchnage rate 9256/.0001
Looks like Iran backs their M2 at 50%.
Just a couple observations.
Iran and Vietnam, M2s of 950 trillion and 810 trillion, exchange rates of 9256 and 16112.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
1 Iranian Rial = 0.0001125 US Dollar
1 US Dollar (USD) = 8889.40 Iranian Rial (IRR)
Median price = 0.0001039 / 0.0001125 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.0001039 / 0.0001125
Maximum price = 0.0001039 / 0.0001125
Two more banks leave Iran
Iran: Thursday, April 26 - 2007 at 13:13
Two more international banks have said they are closing down operations in Iran in compliance with UN sanctions, the Iran Daily reported. Singapore's CBS has given its Iranian clients ten days to withdraw their deposits and close accounts; and Vienna-based Bawag has also stopped doing business with the Islamic republic.
Ill call arround as well. Its a currency, so it has to trade somewhere.
Trav.
Appreciate that info...I will check around this weekend...RJ
Per Wells Fargo, they are not Tradeing this currency, and dont know of any bank that is.
1 800 678 4653, press option #1, then #1 again for live person to say hi to.
Trav.
Thanks looking forward to your update...RJ
Was going to ask the same thing myself..... not sure where to get them but am calling my bank in the morning for some DONG'ers, so Ill enquire on them as well.
Trav.
Anyone picking up any of this currency...if so where are you buying from? Just curious...RJ
spare cash is being invested in Currencies my way too...GL to you and I both...RJ
Im in no hurry either, did all my larger purchases at the beggining of the year and end of last year, now I just add to my possitions a little at a time every couple weeks or so.
Could of added a bit more today, but was off all the boards shopping with family and missed out on WHKA and it looks like a couple others as well. LOL. Oh well, you can always make up trades that you miss, but you cant bring back lost family time.
Trav.
we will be fine in the LONGER range...I am in NO hurry!! RJ
Friday, April 13, 2007
1 Iranian Rial = 0.0001127 US Dollar
1 US Dollar (USD) = 8873.11 Iranian Rial (IRR)
Median price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Maximum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Friday, April 13, 2007
1'000'000 Iranian Rial = 112.700 US Dollar
1'000'000 US Dollar (USD) = 8'873'106'310 Iranian Rial (IRR)
Median price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Maximum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Oh yeah, I've been haveing fun with these currency's. Who know's, someday in the distant future we could be spending more time spending some of this money. Just dont know if/when one of these will pop. But if/when they do....were set. I'm rather happy with the return on the DINAR this year, it beats the hell out of any CD or saveings account, and most mutual funds or stocks so far.
It's all good.
Have a great weekend.
Trav.
PS, and there's no ticker to make you go blind either. LMAO.
About the Bank
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) was established in 1960 (1339 solar year). As stated in the Monetary and Banking Act of Iran (MBAI), CBI is responsible for the design and implementation of the monetary and credit policies with due regard to the general economic policy of the country. more...
General Information
The mission of CBI is to ensure the economic growth of the country by enforcing monetary policies, and to support the government in implementing various economic stability and development plans. more...
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Organization
Details about the five main organs of the Bank including The General Assembly, The Monetary and Credit Council, The Executive Board, The Note Reserve Control Board and The Supervisory Board. Also about current Executive Board members and organizational chart. more...
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Treasury of National Jewels
The National Jewelry Treasury is housed within the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the heart of the City of Tehran. Here is the most dazzling collection of gemstones and jewelry known in the world. more...
Banknotes
In 1932, notes were issued by the "Bank Melli Iran" in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 rial. 1000 rial notes were introduced in 1935, followed by 200 rial notes in 1951 and 5000 and 10,000 rial in 1952. 5 rial notes were last issued in the 1940s, with 10 rial notes disappearing in the 1960s. In 1961, the Central Bank of Iran took over the issuance of paper money.
In 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, Iranian banknotes featuring the Shah's face were counterstamped with intricate designs to cover the Shah's face. The first regular issues of the Islamic Republic were in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 rial. 2000 rial notes were introduced in 1986, with 20,000 rial notes added in 2003.
Banknotes currently in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 rials. Portraits of Ruhollah Khomeini are found on the obverse of the 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 rials banknotes.
Coins
First rial
Silver coins were issued in denominations of ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 rial.
Second rial
The first coins of the second rial currency were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 dinar, ½, 1, 2 and 5 rial, with the ½ to 5 rial coins minted in silver. Gold coins denominated in pahlavi were also issued, initially valued at 100 rial. In 1944, the silver coinage was reduced in size, with the smallest silver coins being 1 rial pieces. This year also saw the cessation of minting of all denominations below 25 dinar. In 1945, silver 10 rial coins were introduced. In 1953, silver coins ceased to be minted, with the smallest denomination now 50 dinar. 20 rial coins were introduced in 1972.
After the Islamic Revolution, the coinage designs were changed to remove the Shah's effigy but the sizes and compositions were not immediately changed. 50 dinar coins were only minted in 1980 and 50 rial coins were introduced in 1981. In 1993, a new coinage was introduced with smaller 1, 5, 10 and 50 rial coins and new 100 rial pieces. 250 rial coins were introduced the following year. In 2004, the sizes of the 50, 100 and 250 rial coins were reduced and 500 rial coins were introduced.
Coins currently in circulation are 50, 100, 250 and 500 rial. The 5 and 10 rials are still legal tender but are not issued anymore.
Value
In 1932, the exchange rate with the British pound was equal to that of the qiran, 1 pound = 59.75 qiran. This changed to 80.25 in 1936, 64.350 in 1939, 68.8 in 1940, 141 in 1941 and 129 in 1942. In 1945, Iran swiched to the U.S. dollar as the peg for its currency, with 1 dollar = 32.25 rial. The rate was changed to 1 dollar = 75.75 rial in 1957, a rate which was maintained until Iran did not follow the dollar's devaluation in 1973, leading to a new peg of 1 dollar = 68.725 rial. The peg to the U.S. dollar was dropped in 1975.
In 1979, 1 rial equaled to $0.0141. The value of Iran's currency has declined precipitously after the Islamic revolution.[1]. Whereas on 15 March 1978, 71.46 rials equaled one U.S. dollar, in July 1999, 9430 rials amounted to one dollar. However, the value of rial has become more stable since 1999 as the economy of Iran has been growing rapidly and independently. (See Iran Currency Exchange Rate History: 1975 - 2006).
Until 2002, Iran’s exchange rate system was based on a multi-layered system, where state and para-state enterprises benefited from the preferred rate (1750 rial for $1) while the private sector had to pay the market rate (8000 rial for $1), hence creating an unhealthy competition environment. However, in March 2002, the multi-tiered system was replaced by a unified, market-driven exchange rate.
Exchange rates: rials per US dollar - 9,246.94 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,885 (2004), 8,193.89 (2003), 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000)
History
The rial was first introduced in 1798 as a coin worth 1250 dinar or one eighth of a toman. In 1825, the rial ceased to be issued, with the qiran of 1000 dinars (one tenth of a toman) being issued as part of a decimal system. The rial replaced the qiran at par in 1932, although it was divided into one hundred (new) dinars.
you and I are both learning Zoink...and so far it has been FUN!! RJ
That oil is where the money is...that is BLACK GOLD, that ALOT of those middle Eastern countries are blessed with! RJ
Great news for sure. Now lets enjoy our weekend here. And Happy Easter to all!! RJ
Iran releases British sailors
British Prime Minister Blair says he bears 'no ill will'
NBC VIDEO
• Iran to release British sailors
April 4: Iran's president said Wednesday he will pardon and free 15 British troops.
MSNBC
Slide show
• Iran’s perilous path in pictures
A click-through history of modern Iran and its love-hate relationship with the United States
INTERACTIVE
• Iran's nuclear network
An interactive look at Iran’s nuclear facilities
Slide show
• Unseen Iran
27 years after the revolution, conservatives rule Iran. But Western culture still seeps in. Click to see images.
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 12 minutes ago
LONDON - Iran on Wednesday freed the 15 detained British sailors and marines in what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called an Easter gift to the British people. Prime Minister Tony Blair said he bore “no ill will” toward the Iranian people.
Iranian state television said the 14 men and one woman, who were seized while on patrol in the northern Persian gulf on March 23, would leave Iran on Thursday. An Iranian official in London said they would be handed over to British diplomats in Tehran.
Ahmadinejad’s surprise announcement came at a news conference shortly after he pinned a medal on the chest of the Iranian coast guard commander who intercepted the sailors and marines.
Story continues below ↓
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“I’m glad that our 15 service personnel have been released and I know their release will come as a relief not just to them but to their families,” Blair said outside his No. 10 Downing St. office. “Throughout, we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating but not confronting, either.”
Blair added, “To the Iranian people I would simply say this: We bear you no ill will.”
Iranian state television later showed the British sailors talking to Ahmadinejad at the country's presidential palace apparently minutes before they were to be freed.
The footage showed Ahmadinejad shaking hands with the sailors and smiling and chatting.
The Iranian president had said the Britons would be taken to Tehran aiport at the end of the press conference that he was addressing, but The Associated Press and Reuters news agency later reported that they would be flying out on Thursday.
The White House hailed the release. "As Prime Minister Blair just said, President Bush also welcomes the news," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said.
Gift to Britain
Ahmadinejad said he had pardoned the sailors as a gift to the British people and to mark the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammed and Easter.
"On the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet (Muhammad) ... and for the occasion of the passing of Christ, I say the Islamic Republic government and the Iranian people -- with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial -- forgave those 15," he said, referring to the Muslim prophet's birthday last Saturday and Easter, next Sunday.
"This pardon is a gift to the British people," he said.
Discuss
What do you think about the release of the Britons
"On behalf of the great Iranian people, I want to thank the Iranian Coast Guard who courageously defended and captured those who violated their territorial waters, the president told a press conference.
He then interrupted his speech and pinned a medal on the commander of the Coast Guards involved in capturing the British sailors and marines in the northern Gulf on March 23. Two other Coast Guards came on to the podium and saluted during the ceremony.
Concern for female sailor?
He criticized Britain for deploying Leading Seaman Faye Turney, one of the 15 detainees, in the Gulf, pointing out that she is a woman with a child.
"How can you justify seeing a mother away from her home, her children? Why don't they respect family values in the West?" he asked of the British government.
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Answering questions, Ahmadinejad said there was no link between the sailors' release and the release in Baghdad on Monday of an Iranian diplomat who was seized by gunmen wearing Iraqi military uniforms in January.
"If we had wanted to exchange Jalal Sharafi with the rest (of the Britons) we would have exchanged him for 100,000. But we pardoned them," he said, adding the decision was "based on humanitarian considerations."
The president also weighed in on his country's diplomatic standoff with the United States.
"If Mr. Bush and his government change their behavior ... this side (Iran) has the ability to reconsider" its ties with Washington, he said, without specifying what change he wanted to see.
The White House responded that it was Tehran that needed to change its behavior and again urged the Iranian government to abandon its efforts nuclear program if it wants to improve relations with the United States.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17944210/
Iran Sells Oil for Euros—Shuns Dollar
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Iran is pressuring its oil customers to pay in currencies other than U.S. dollars. Many nations are giving in to the pressure. This does not portend well for the U.S. dollar.
Officials from the Iranian oil ministry have stated that 60 percent of their oil transactions are conducted in non-dollar currencies, but now for the first time there is outside confirmation of this shift.
Officials from Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, a Chinese owned company, confirmed that they began paying for Iranian oil in euros starting late last year. The company is Iran’s biggest crude oil customer, purchasing more than a tenth of Iran’s total oil exports.
“Most of China’s purchases have shifted to euro,” reported a Chinese state oil trader.
In addition, Japanese officials have indicated they are willing to pay for Iranian crude in yen if necessary. Japanese buyers, including Nippon Oil, said Iran had signaled it wanted them to switch their oil purchases out of dollars but were waiting for a formal request.
All told, Iranian officials claim over half their customers now pay in non-dollar currencies.
This shift of trade from the dollar to other currencies, such as the euro, is a worrying sign for the future of the U.S. economy.
The dollar, as the world’s reserve currency, is the monetary unit used in the majority of global transactions. Most commodities that are traded on the world market, including oil, are priced and traded in dollars. This means nations must hold large dollar-denominated reserves to conduct global trade.
This extra demand for the dollar has allowed the United States to reap benefits not available to other nations—one of the biggest being it has allowed America to overspend and run up massive trade deficits without experiencing the normal negative consequences such as currency devaluation, higher interest rates and price inflation.
Iran is, of course, only one nation, and its oil sales are only a fraction of total dollar-denominated trade. However, this precedent is a crack in the dollar’s reserve currency status. The danger lies in other nations shifting away from the greenback—and already this is the clear trend in global trade.
The U.S. economy—weakening under massive debt loads, trade imbalances and ongoing wars—is vulnerable to a currency attack. Time will tell how quickly other nations break away from the dollar.
The economic benefits of having the world’s reserve currency are huge. Without it America’s economy would be in serious trouble. For more information on the world’s shift away from the dollar, read “New Global Trend: Dump a Dollar, Buy a Euro.”
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?page=article&id=3090
My pleasure glad to help out.
I know very little about Iran or its currency, but am willing to learn. Im looing forward to some DD.
Trav.
Thanks Zoinkers...I am new to this one. And have NO idea yet about it. But I am looking forward to doing a bit of DD here over the next several days!! And thanks as always to you for the constant updates and info about each country we are investing in...RJ
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
1 Iranian Rial = 0.0001127 US Dollar
1 US Dollar (USD) = 8869.30 Iranian Rial (IRR)
Median price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Maximum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
1'000'000 Iranian Rial = 112.748 US Dollar
1'000'000 US Dollar (USD) = 8'869'300'000 Iranian Rial (IRR)
Median price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127 (bid/ask)
Minimum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
Maximum price = 0.0001040 / 0.0001127
World Bank to loan Iraq power plant $124 million
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30 March 2007 (Reuters)
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The World Bank on Thursday approved $124 million in credit for an electricity reconstruction project in Iraq.
The project aims to increase generating capacity at the Hartha power station in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the World Bank said in a statement.
"The project will double the output of the Hartha power station from 400 megawatts to 800 megawatts, providing additional generating capacity to the national grid and benefiting household and industrial consumers," Tjaadra Storm van Leeuwen, the project's Task Team Leader said.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $150 million.
The bank approved an additional $6 million from a donor fund administered by the World Bank and the Iraqi government is contributing $20 million, the statement said.
This is the second power rehabilitation project in Iraq to be funded by the World Bank.
The lender approved $40 million in credit in December 2006 for the repair of two hydroelectric power stations in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
Nice... so this is forex thing?
Cool another book marked board.
Thanks RJ,
Trav.
thanks rj.------------------------------------------------------------
interesting pattern, I sitll like Iraq dinar more! :)
New Board to talk about this currency...There is alot of term-oil going on in the middle east, and many of their currencies are suffering. RJ
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