OT--Report: Iran's president says oil prices too low

[mikemarrs]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line president declared that crude oil prices, now above $115 a barrel, are too low, state media reported Saturday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an oil and gas exhibition in Tehran on Friday that he thought the commodity still had to "discover its real value," according to the Web site of Iran's state-run television.

Oil prices have hit all-time highs above $115 a barrel in recent weeks, amid reports that oil and gasoline reserves in the United States were lower than expected and as the dollar sinks to record lows.

"The oil price of $115 a barrel in today's global markets is a deceiving figure. Oil is a strategic commodity that needs to discover its real value," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Crude oil futures surged to a new trading record of $117 a barrel Friday following an attack on a key pipeline in Nigeria. The increase capped a week of record highs fueled by supply woes and the dollar's weakness relative to other major currencies.

Ahmadinejad said despite high oil prices, the true value of crude oil, adjusted for inflation, is currently less than what it was in 1980.

"While the price of other commodities have increased, the economic value of the current oil price is even less than 1980," he said.

But some figures suggest that today's crude prices might have surpassed inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.

Ahmadinejad accused Western industrialized nations of "selfishness" in their quest for cheaper oil.

"When they get hold of oil, they assume that oil is a free commodity and belongs to them and has wrongly been placed in other territories. ... This is the spirit of selfishness and arrogance," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have bolstered oil prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand.

A weaker dollar makes commodities such as oil less attractive to investors as a hedge against inflation, and it makes oil more expensive to investors overseas. Analysts believe the weaker dollar is the primary reason oil has soared this year. The effect tends to reverse when the greenback gains ground.

Ahmadinejad called the U.S. currency "a handful of paper" without any global support.

Iran has stopped using the U.S. dollar in its oil transactions with the outside world, switching to currencies such as euro.

"The dollar is not money any longer but a handful of paper distributed in the world without commodity support," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

[Lula]

he is one scary dude .

things are bad these days. everything has gone up, everything except wages of course. there are scary men in power.... so much is not right with the world

[Aaron]

Time for State 51?

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line president declared that crude oil prices, now above $115 a barrel, are too low, state media reported Saturday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an oil and gas exhibition in Tehran on Friday that he thought the commodity still had to "discover its real value," according to the Web site of Iran's state-run television.

Oil prices have hit all-time highs above $115 a barrel in recent weeks, amid reports that oil and gasoline reserves in the United States were lower than expected and as the dollar sinks to record lows.

"The oil price of $115 a barrel in today's global markets is a deceiving figure. Oil is a strategic commodity that needs to discover its real value," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Crude oil futures surged to a new trading record of $117 a barrel Friday following an attack on a key pipeline in Nigeria. The increase capped a week of record highs fueled by supply woes and the dollar's weakness relative to other major currencies.

Ahmadinejad said despite high oil prices, the true value of crude oil, adjusted for inflation, is currently less than what it was in 1980.

"While the price of other commodities have increased, the economic value of the current oil price is even less than 1980," he said.

But some figures suggest that today's crude prices might have surpassed inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.

Ahmadinejad accused Western industrialized nations of "selfishness" in their quest for cheaper oil.

"When they get hold of oil, they assume that oil is a free commodity and belongs to them and has wrongly been placed in other territories. ... This is the spirit of selfishness and arrogance," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have bolstered oil prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand.

A weaker dollar makes commodities such as oil less attractive to investors as a hedge against inflation, and it makes oil more expensive to investors overseas. Analysts believe the weaker dollar is the primary reason oil has soared this year. The effect tends to reverse when the greenback gains ground.

Ahmadinejad called the U.S. currency "a handful of paper" without any global support.

Iran has stopped using the U.S. dollar in its oil transactions with the outside world, switching to currencies such as euro.

"The dollar is not money any longer but a handful of paper distributed in the world without commodity support," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

[X factor]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line president declared that crude oil prices, now above $115 a barrel, are too low, state media reported Saturday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an oil and gas exhibition in Tehran on Friday that he thought the commodity still had to "discover its real value," according to the Web site of Iran's state-run television.

Oil prices have hit all-time highs above $115 a barrel in recent weeks, amid reports that oil and gasoline reserves in the United States were lower than expected and as the dollar sinks to record lows.

"The oil price of $115 a barrel in today's global markets is a deceiving figure. Oil is a strategic commodity that needs to discover its real value," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Crude oil futures surged to a new trading record of $117 a barrel Friday following an attack on a key pipeline in Nigeria. The increase capped a week of record highs fueled by supply woes and the dollar's weakness relative to other major currencies.

Ahmadinejad said despite high oil prices, the true value of crude oil, adjusted for inflation, is currently less than what it was in 1980.

"While the price of other commodities have increased, the economic value of the current oil price is even less than 1980," he said.

But some figures suggest that today's crude prices might have surpassed inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.

Ahmadinejad accused Western industrialized nations of "selfishness" in their quest for cheaper oil.

"When they get hold of oil, they assume that oil is a free commodity and belongs to them and has wrongly been placed in other territories. ... This is the spirit of selfishness and arrogance," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have bolstered oil prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand.

A weaker dollar makes commodities such as oil less attractive to investors as a hedge against inflation, and it makes oil more expensive to investors overseas. Analysts believe the weaker dollar is the primary reason oil has soared this year. The effect tends to reverse when the greenback gains ground.

Ahmadinejad called the U.S. currency "a handful of paper" without any global support.

Iran has stopped using the U.S. dollar in its oil transactions with the outside world, switching to currencies such as euro.

"The dollar is not money any longer but a handful of paper distributed in the world without commodity support," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

GOD how I would love it if we could end our foreign oil dependancy. Yeah, it'd be nice for the environment, but what a KICK IN THE NADS to pricks like this guy that would be!
And there is NO WAY his math is correct on the inflation adjustment for oil prices...no fucking way!

[mikemarrs]

yep he is an evil man,there are some that think bush could suspend the elections in the event of a terror attack or another war.....

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (National Security Presidential Directive NSPD-51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-20, sometimes called simply "Executive Directive 51" for short), signed by United States President George W. Bush on May 4, 2007, is a Presidential Directive which specifies the procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a "catastrophic emergency." Such an emergency is construed as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions." [1] The unclassified portion of the directive was posted on the White House website on May 9, 2007, without any further announcement or press briefings,[2] although Special Assistant to George W. Bush Gordon Johndroe answered several questions on the matter when asked about it by members of the press in early June 2007.[3] The directive specifies that, following such an emergency, an "Enduring Constitutional Government," comprising "a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government," coordinated by the President of the United States, will take the place of the nation's regular government, presumably without the oversight of Congress.[4] Conservative activist Jerome Corsi and Marjorie Cohn of the National Lawyers Guild have interpreted this as a break from Constitutional law in that the three branches of government are equal, with no single branch coordinating the others.[5][6] The directive specifies that the president has the power to declare a catastrophic emergency and does not specify who has the power to declare said emergency over. The directive further stipulates that, in the case of such an emergency, the new position of "National Continuity Coordinator" would be filled by the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (this position was held by Frances Townsend until her resignation on November 19, 2007). The directive also specifies that a "Continuity Policy Coordination Committee," to be chaired by a senior director of the Homeland Security Council staff, and selected by the National Continuity Coordinator, shall be "the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination. " The directive ends by describing a number of "annexes, " of which Annex A is described as being not classified but which does not appear on the directive's Web page: "(23) Annex A and the classified Continuity Annexes, attached hereto, are hereby incorporated into and made a part of this directive. "(24) Security. This directive and the information contained herein shall be protected from unauthorized disclosure, provided that, except for Annex A, the Annexes attached to this directive are classified and shall be accorded appropriate handling, consistent with applicable Executive Orders." The "National Continuity Policy, Annex A, Categories of Departments and Agencies", available from the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee website[7], indicates that "executive departments and agencies are assigned to one of four categories commensurate with their COOP/COG/ECG responsibilities during an emergency".

[Behshad]

the dude is crazy but he is all talk,,, just like Saddam was toward the end.,.,,

Aaron,,, you mean state 52? let us finish on the mess we got with state 51(Iraq) first , shall we!?:P

[Aaron]

Now we're talkin bro ... fair enough.

the dude is crazy but he is all talk,,, just like Saddam was toward the end.,.,,

Aaron,,, you mean state 52? let us finish on the mess we got with state 51(Iraq) first , shall we!?:P

[squirt1]

We went through this in the 70's & with 20% inflation. We need the Dems and their enviromentalist contributors to let is drill with our new technology the 6-7 billion barrel new find in the Dakotas !!!! We need to build a new refinery (7yrs) besides. Then buy from Brazil and tell Chavez and Amedinejad to @&&$*#^^%&$&#*

[Rick]

We went through this in the 70's & with 20% inflation. We need the Dems and their enviromentalist contributors to let is drill with our new technology the 6-7 billion barrel new find in the Dakotas !!!! We need to build a new refinery (7yrs) besides. Then buy from Brazil and tell Chavez and Amedinejad to @&&$*#^^%&$&#*

I love you Squirt! Great post!

[Barb]

Vote for Obama. He will talk to Prez. Nutjob and all will be well. Hope! Change!

[Rick]

Vote for Obama. He will talk to Prez. Nutjob and all will be well. Hope! Change!

Another great post from the 'Typical White Person'.

[Rockindeano]

Then buy from Brazil and tell Chavez and Amedinejad to @&&$*#^^%&$&#*

Brazil? Brazil is 100% NON dependent on oil. Hmm, seems to me if they can do it, cannot the US?

[squirt1]

Hey Deano- I am glad that you are back or that I could draw you out !! What I read was when oil/gas reached 7.00 a gallon our alternatives would be profitable and investors would fund. Plus the dollar is down and that drives up oil prices PLUS the commody speculators. Other countries don't have the same AIR or employment standards and rules and regulations that we have. Therefore we are at a disadvantage with many countries. The oil companies but a very few are global and do what they please. Look on Drudgereport.com today and see Rio in a 5 day smog. Here I thought it was only China and India poluting on that level. How is baby boo doing? How many words ?

[squirt1]

Yes I know I left an l off my previous post. I know how to spell,just not how to type.

[Rockindeano]

This is comical. Bush/Cheney LOVE high gas prices. That just fills their pockets.

If you cannot see that, you are a dumbass. America is getting what it deserves; a royal buttfucking, not at the hands of Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran, but of our "true leaders" George W Bush and Mr. Dick Cheney. Congrats Soccer moms.

Hell, I don't care who wins any more. This country is such an embarrassment, it won't matter. Hillary or Obama can't possibly clean up the shit laid out by the GOP. The GOP should go and just die. Die die die. The GOP is solely responsible for America's standing as thew world's biggest embarrassment, and yes, we are a global joke.

Oh and with keeping On Topic, Iran has told Israel, they don't know what the Holocaust is really like. WOW. Then that dumbfuck Obama, who is clueless, and got all his foreign policy experience at the International House of Pancakes, will walk right into an ambush. Seriously, Hillary is the only one to trust.

[rubyglare]

They may have oil but we have water, those desert nations import water like we import oil. Water here may be running out but we're still selling it & that's a big trump card that mysteriously is not being used by those in power in the U.S. Osama, Binny as I call him is 1 of 53 children & they are all breeding in Muslim states like there's no tomorrow & endless water; there isn't. Why not use such a handy tool, throw them off their feet?

[RedWingFan]

This is comical. Bush/Cheney LOVE high gas prices. That just fills their pockets.

Didn't Bush and Cheney have to sell all their stock before taking office?

Then that dumbfuck Obama, who is clueless, and got all his foreign policy experience at the International House of Pancakes

LMAO!!!!

Seriously, Hillary is the only one to trust.

Dude, you want to put the woman that's in charge of her campaign that is currently losing to Mr. IHOP to run the country? That post was classic!

[Behshad]

They may have oil but we have water, those desert nations import water like we import oil. Water here may be running out but we're still selling it & that's a big trump card that mysteriously is not being used by those in power in the U.S. Osama, Binny as I call him is 1 of 53 children & they are all breeding in Muslim states like there's no tomorrow & endless water; there isn't. Why not use such a handy tool, throw them off their feet?

you dont have a clue , do you. Take a look at the map and you will see that all those countries are surrounded by water. They wouldnt have to import water . The areas who are low on water are the countries in central africa and they dont have the oil to trade with our water.

[epresley]

This is comical. Bush/Cheney LOVE high gas prices. That just fills their pockets.

If you cannot see that, you are a dumbass. America is getting what it deserves; a royal buttfucking, not at the hands of Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran, but of our "true leaders" George W Bush and Mr. Dick Cheney. Congrats Soccer moms.

Hell, I don't care who wins any more. This country is such an embarrassment, it won't matter. Hillary or Obama can't possibly clean up the shit laid out by the GOP. The GOP should go and just die. Die die die. The GOP is solely responsible for America's standing as thew world's biggest embarrassment, and yes, we are a global joke.

Oh and with keeping On Topic, Iran has told Israel, they don't know what the Holocaust is really like. WOW. Then that dumbfuck Obama, who is clueless, and got all his foreign policy experience at the International House of Pancakes, will walk right into an ambush. Seriously, Hillary is the only one to trust.

Deano, I think you hit the nail on the head---although I do support Obama over Hillary, ANYTHING or ANYONE is better than letting the GOP get in office again.

[mikemarrs]

looks like we will be seeing 4 dollars a gallon very soon.seems like the whole damn thing is about to go to pieces.there's a perfect storm happening right now due to the oil prices,housing slump,credit crisis,crime,etc.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Vote for Obama. He will talk to Prez. Nutjob and all will be well. Hope! Change!

We are the largest military power in the world, is opening talks going to somehow compromise that?
What are you afraid of?
I can't help but wonder if you similarly had your guard up in regards to Nixon and Mao or even Reagan and Gorbachev.
I bet back then, talking to those "nutjobs" was "bold Republican leadership," right?

As if that wasn't enough, there is also the little pesky matter of the US conducting back channel talks with Iran, as well as our Iraqi puppet government currently meeting with them. Obama doesn't need to initiate talks - they are already ongoing.

Funny how the righties went apoplectic when Kerry met with Chiraq in France, but didn't say a peep about this bloodthirsy sob.