A collapse I missed, did you too?
Quote:
The most striking indicator is the collapse of the Iranian rial's value against the US dollar: from around 7,000 rial to the dollar in October 2011 to 15,150 at the end of trading on 20 December 2011.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/wo...loom.html?_r=1
Hat tip to Paul Rogers for drawing attention to this:http://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-ro...-shifting-risk
Given that Iran continues to import much of its petrol, which I assume is paid in US$, this collapse could be rather painful quickly.
New plant is open to inspection
Yes the new, underground nuclear processing plant is open, but somewhere today I read it is under IAEA safeguards - which is an important point IMHO.
A collapse I missed, did you too? Updated
Curiously the Iranian Rial exchange rate to the US Dollar has improved in the last three weeks and is now 11,279; three weeks ago it was 15,150.
I assumed the exchange rate was a barometer of international confidence in trading with Iran.
New plant is open to inspection: Part 2
A week ago I posted this:Yes the new, underground nuclear processing plant is open, but somewhere today I read it is under IAEA safeguards - which is an important point IMHO.
Now for Part 2. Today in the Daily Telegraph is a report headlined Great Salt Desert bunker could be trigger for an attack on Iran' and sub-titled:
Quote:
A bunker buried in a mountainside in the Great Salt Desert could become the crucial trigger for any decision to launch military strikes on Iran.
I noted this less bellicose passage:
Quote:
Last November, the IAEA reported that Fordow held 412 centrifuges, representing 14 per cent of its capacity.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...k-on-Iran.html
All this and without deep reading on such matters puzzles me. Iran develops and reveals an underground factory, which is inspected by the IAEA and under safeguards - which IIRC includes time lapse CCTV and more. Why would the Iranians allow such external oversight?