Iranian President Ahmadinejad came out Sunday at the end of a rare OPEC summit stating that OPEC’s members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a “worthless piece of paper.” (It later became clear that the “members” he is referring to is none other than Iran and Venezuela… go figure.)

He went on to blame President Bush’s policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative effect on other countries.

In an effort to tag-team the idea, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez jumped in from the sidelines saying “the empire of the dollar has to end.”

Chavez sees the Euro as a better option to hold in reserve, and further went on to affirm his position stating that the U.S. dollar has been in a free-fall without a parachute.

While it’s easy to see that the the Chavez-Ahmadinejad duo are taking any opportunity to take shots at the U.S. while on an international podium, I have to wonder if the declining dollar could force OPEC’s hand to switch to another currency.

The question then becomes, what effect does that have on the U.S. economy?

Economics, Energy, Oil & Gas, Politics Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Currency, dollar, oil and gas, OPEC, petroleum