Iran is moving its assets out of Europe

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6396013&cKey=1137774072000

Iran, at risk of U.N. sanctions, says moving assets

By Parinoosh Arami

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Embroiled in a nuclear standoff with the West, Iran said on Friday it was moving funds out of Europe to shield them from possible U.N. sanctions and flexed its oil muscles with a proposal to cut OPEC output.

"Yes, Iran has started withdrawing money from European banks and transferring it to other banks abroad," said a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named.

Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibani was quoted earlier as saying Tehran had started shifting funds, but he sidestepped a question on whether the assets would go to accounts in Asia.

Financial markets reacted nervously to the uncertainty about Iran's foreign holdings, estimated at more than $30 billion, helping send oil to a four-month high above $67. The dollar dipped against the euro and the safe-haven Swiss franc.

[cliss]

1. OMG...I hadn't thought of this.

The radio just announced this news. This is going to really hurt Europe. The banks are going to be in trouble; I just heard that the withdrawals are in the billions.

Let's see how deep their friendship with Bush really is.

[NNN0LHI]

2. Wait until they turn off the oil spigots and then baaaam! n/t

[kenny blankenship]

5. No kidding. Basically Iran is a big deal despite all our efforts

to hold their heads under water for the last quarter century. Frankly it's time I think for us to acknowledge that the only way we can impinge on their sovereignty and dictate their internal policies, is go to war with them and destroy/replace their government. That would be a war of aggression, complete with multidecade occupation, begun without a shred of legal justification.

It would be ANOTHER war of aggression I should say, begun without a shred of legal justification, and the consequences of this war even in "victory" could be cataclysmic for us and our European allies. (Is this country we live in just crazy?)

We have had an almost unbroken policy of hostility and isolation towards Iran all the time since their revolution. Now we find ourselves wanting to affect key policies in Iran regarding atomic power, and lo and behold we have no carrot to entice them into complying with our wishes. Because of our 25 year long policy of disengagement and covert warfare against Iran, we are without options. We can preemptively annihilate them militarily and that's about it, which of course would make us worse in unalterable fact than we claim that they are being, or might be if they continued on the course we dislike.
That makes for a simple equation in my opinion. Iran cannot be bullied like Saddam was: they are not without economic weapons like Saddam was and they are not without friends like Saddam was. The more we threaten them the more justification they will feel for keeping their nuclear options open.

[stop the bleeding]

3. Sounds like consolidation before a battle n/t

[FloridaPat]

4. Gee, now Iran has "unnamed sources". My policy is to think any

story with "unnamed sources" is a lie. Then, should Europe take Iran to the UN for santions, they would know about it way in advance. Maybe it's just hard to move $30 billion. Can I borrow some from someone and see how long it takes?

And the Iranian bouse is coming up in a couple of weeks. No indication what type of money was pulled out - Iranian money, gold, Euros. I can see where maybe Iran would get together with it's allies and send them money. But with all the unnamed sources, I find it strange and dubious.

[murray hill farm]

6. It actually makes perfect sense.

In a money is power frame of reference....have u checked the stock market response here in the usa today? Can the european stock markets deal with this? no! Can the shift of money topple the european banks..yep! Oil up to $67...and that is just on a rumor? A lot of countries and a lot of bankers are rethinking their relationship with Iran...and the USA.

[stop the bleeding]

7. Yep and I heard 68$/barrel - there was a large amount volume in the

markets today.

I here a crash coming, but we will see

[cliss]

9. Yes, I believe so too.

A lot of these banks have these deposits in their financial statements. It's propped up their lending portfolios; has had a direct effect on their stock performance.

Now, suddenly the blood is drained by about $30 billion. The banks are sitting there, with labor costs, loans, expenses.....and their deposits are gone. I'll bet a lot of these banks are based in London. Some of them will probably fold.

Watch the fur fly.....they will be begging the Iranians this afternoon to keep the money there. I can't wait to see the transatlantic phone calls start heating up....phone calls to Bush.

[hunter]

8. It's a game of chess, with all the pieces visible.

The Bush administration thinks it's a game of poker.

This will not turn out well for us.