Gulf states back dollar as Iran, Venezuela mount atttack at OPEC
ABU DHABI — Iran and Saudi Arabia are feuding over whether to peg crude oil exports to the U.S. dollar.
Iran has sought to move away from the U.S. dollar amid its sharp
decline. Saudi Arabia said such a move could destroy the U.S. currency as an
instrument of international trade.
The argument was aired at the OPEC oil ministers meeting on Saturday in
Riyad. Iran, supported by Venezuela, proposed that the 12-member OPEC
express concern over the fall of the U.S. dollar, which has dropped by 15
percent over the last year, Middle East Newsline reported.
"There are media people outside waiting to catch this point and they
will add to it, and we may find that the dollar collapses," Saudi Foreign
Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said on the eve of the meeting. "This is a
sensitive issue. It will cause the dollar to drop further, thus complicating
the problems we are facing from the dollar's fall."
The meeting has been covered by a record 900 journalists. The debate of
the foreign ministers was seen in the media center until a Saudi technician
pulled the plug on the closed-circuit broadcast.
Saudi sources said Riyad succeeded in blocking an Iranian effort to
insert the currency proposal in the communique. The sources said the huge
majority of OPEC states joined Riyad.
"We currently represent 40 percent of the oil output," Saud said. "The
other producing countries must also have a role regarding the currency they
are dealing with."
