On Sunday the Iranian government took further steps to establish the first oil bourse (essentially a stock exchange for oil) not in the Western world. All indications by the Iranian government point to oil being traded at this soon to be established bourse in currencies such as the Euro and the Yen, but not the United States dollar.

This announcement by the Iranian Government on Sunday was the latest in a string of events that has many believing that the US and/or Israel is closer than ever to taking military action against Iran.

On the conspiratorial front there were four major communications cables mysteriously cut over a three day period, slowing down or in some cases halting the internet and some phone communication in parts of the Middle East (namely Iran). It was first reported that an anchor was to blame for the cut cables, but surveillance footage of the water surface above where the cables were cut shows no presence of ships at the time the cables were cut. Now this very well could be a coincidence but there is also a chance that the US was involved in some capacity.

Another interesting development is explained in this article:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1202064573279&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFullThe article in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post states that the US is docking an anti-missile defense system in Haifa. The Pentagon claims that the docking is temporary but we will see what happens. I believe even if the US attacked Iran militarily, Iran might retaliate in part by striking Israel in some capacity.

The dilemma right now for the US is that if the Iranian Oil Bourse was to become a reality, the dollar would most likely be exposed as not worth much more than the paper on which it is printed. The US dollar has for many years enjoyed the status of the world currency, the Iranian oil bourse would be the latest step in a world economic swing towards the Euro.

The most important country to watch will be Saudi Arabia. Once they abandon the dollar and make a push toward the Euro, the US will most likely strike out militarily in order to control the currency market by force as they have already done in Iraq, where again the country is dealing in US dollars.

The potential of the Iranian Oil Bourse also explains the extraordinarily strange behavior displayed by the Bush administration over the past several months toward the Iranian regime. They have desperately been looking for a legitimate reason to go into Iran and install leadership that will make sure the dollar remains the currency of choice in the oil market.

In recent weeks the Bush administration has resorted to charging the Iranian government with the title “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” a charge that is vague at best and difficult if not impossible to prove.

The leaders in Washington simply do not have the option of going into Iran under the banner of saving their own currency and that is why they are flailing around and pointing at speed boats. The White House and the Pentagon do have a reputation to think about, namely the reputation for being the moral conscience of the world, even if that reputation now only remains in the fantasy land where they reside.

*To learn more about the Iranian Oil Bourse and its potential impact on the US economy please visit this page:

http://www.energybulletin.net/12125.html