Chavez in Tehran: "Empire of dollar is crashing"

By Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday the "empire of the dollar is crashing," a day after his country and "anti-U.S." ally Iran advocated action over the weakening U.S. currency during an OPEC summit in Riyadh.

Chavez, who on Saturday said oil prices could double to $200 per barrel if the United States attacks Iran over its disputed atomic ambitions, spoke to reporters after talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Soon we will not talk about dollars because the dollar is falling in value and the empire of the dollar is crashing," Chavez said in comments translated into Farsi from Spanish.

"Naturally, by the crash of the dollar, America's empire will crash," Chavez said at a joint news conference with Ahmadinejad. The two presidents share the same viewpoint in denouncing U.S. influence in the world.

The final statement of the oil cartel's November 17-18 summit in Riyadh did not include any reference to the falling dollar, in an apparent victory for U.S.-allied moderates led by Saudi Arabia.

But Iran and Venezuela made clear before and after the summit that they would press for action, which could include pricing oil in a basket of currencies, with Ahmadinejad on Sunday calling the dollar a "worthless piece of paper."

A fall in the value of the U.S. dollar on global markets helped fuel oil's rally to a record $98.62 on November 7 -- causing the West to call for more OPEC supplies to cool prices -- but it has also eroded the purchasing power of OPEC members.

Fears the United States or its ally Israel could attack Iran -- over a nuclear energy program Washington says is a cover for seeking atomic weapons -- have also contributed to higher crude prices. Tehran denies the charge.