The Myth of “Isolated” Iran: Following the Money in the Iran Crisis [View all]
Note: It's a long-ish piece, and I wasn't sure what portion to excerpt, but this segment is a good nugget -
"Follow the money. Leave aside, for the moment, the new sanctions on Irans Central Bank that will go into effect months from now, ignore Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz (especially unlikely given that its the main way Iran gets its own oil to market), and perhaps one key reason the crisis in the Persian Gulf is mounting involves this move to torpedo the petrodollar as the all-purpose currency of exchange.
Its been spearheaded by Iran and its bound to translate into an anxious Washington, facing down not only a regional power, but its major strategic competitors China and Russia. No wonder all those carriers are heading for the Persian Gulf right now, though its the strangest of showdowns -- a case of military power being deployed against economic power.
In this context, its worth remembering that in September 2000 Saddam Hussein abandoned the petrodollar as the currency of payment for Iraqs oil, and moved to the euro. In March 2003, Iraq was invaded and the inevitable regime change occurred. Libyas Muammar Gaddafi proposed a gold dinar both as Africas common currency and as the currency of payment for his countrys energy resources. Another intervention and another regime change followed."
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175490/tomgram%3A_pepe_escobar%2C_sinking_the_petrodollar_in_the_persian_gulf/
More at the link.