The growing US pressure on the world to totally stop buying Iranian oil has produced a warning from top Iranian officials that the world economy, and America’s economy in particular, would pay a severe price from such a ban.
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Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said the US ban amounted to “self harm,” adding that Iran’s position is that oil should not be used as a weapon or for political purposes. He predicted that higher oil prices would end up hurting the US economy.
Historically that has been the case, and with Saudi production already at record levels, Trump’s expectation that the Saudis will make up for Iran’s shortfalls are not realistic. Still, US officials continue to demand the world, including major Asian powers, stop buying from Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani downplayed the seriousness of the ban, saying he is confident Iran will survive this round of US sanctions as it has other sanctions in the past. Many coutries have not committed to the US ban, and if prices rise, Iran may ultimately take in just as much money even with fewer exports.
Classic reverse psychology; say something patently obvious so Trump doesn’t do it. Not that it matters; Iran is merely trying to rub salt in a pre-existing wound it didn’t inflict and can’t really affect further.
Oil outages in Canada and Nigeria combined with Libya and Venezuelan production crashes means oil prices can only tic upwards; Trump’s goal is to deprive Iran of that benefit.
Trump demanding OPEC boost production will only have an opposite effect as the Global Deep State also seizes the opportunity to strike back at the U.S. using oil.
Is is possible that the driving force behind all US policies is the fate of dollar? By debilitating oil exporters most likely to diversify the oil trade currencies — Iran, Venezuela — and by pushing all trading partners into a corner, dollar would reign supreme. Showing China how easy it is to cripple their high tech company by blocking sale of components from US — message sent. It will be interesting to see what Donald has on Russia.
Is it possible the driving force behind all US policies is the fate of the dollar? By debilitating oil exporters most likely to diversify the oil trade currencies – Iran, Venezuela – and by pushing all trading partners into a corner, dollar would reign supreme, showing China how easy it is to cripple their high tech company by blocking sales of components from the US – message sent. Yes, indeed, it’ll be interesting to see what Donald has on Russia.
Stay tuned.
The $US is a weapon and its fate reasonably secure without trade war.
The U.S. dollar is backed by nuclear weapons as well as a strong economy founded on a Mackinderan world pivot. The North American Great Plains form an efficient mini-heartland against the sprawling Russian world heartland, with unfettered warm water ports accessing both major oceans.
An internal civil war could sink the dollar, and the rise of Eurasia would cut into its role as an the overwhelmingly dominant world reserve currency. However, relative to the other currencies its very secure and would be the ‘last man standing’ in any FX conflict, a position that can be weaponized.
Not going to happen. As prior administration tried to starve I.ran and the Ru.ss in 2011 by increasing the output of oil to lower the prices.
But Thrump does plan on increasing the strength of the dollar compared to other basket of currencies by raising oil prices as a result of the oil shortage. This will come back to bite the U.S consumers “bigly”.
Not the U.S. consumers who count. The U.S. is a net importer of a lot of things and a strong U.S. dollar means they can buy more foreign goods, including luxury goods.
High oil prices only hurt the working middle class, who pay for their own gas and small businesses reliant on transporting goods by truck.
The whole situation, where the USA is in the wrong and not only puts new sanctions on Iran, which has acted correctly, but on all others including “US allies” and some of them have already caved in to the blackmail, makes a farce of international relations and of course international law, which the USA considers itself to be above.