Ahmadinejad: "Dollar is worthless piece of paper"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that members of OPEC have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves in a currency other than the depreciating of the dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper "

His comments at the end of a summit of OPEC heads of state exposed cracks in the 13 members particularly those ally of the United States, after Saudi Arabia was reluctant to talk about concerns about the fall of the dollar in the final declaration of the summit.

The leader of the Iranian hard-line comments also highlighted the growing challenge that Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer, is facing Iran and its ally Venezuela in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

"They get our oil and give us a piece of paper of no value," Ahmadinejad told reporters after the conclusion of the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. He accuses American President George W. Bush policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative impact on other countries.

Oil use U.S. dollar price on the world market, and the currency depreciation has affected oil producers because he has contributed to higher crude oil prices, and has eroded the value of their dollar reserves .

"All the leaders have shown an interest in the evolution of their foreign reserves to a strong credible currency" said Ahmadinejad. "Some people said that the producing countries must designate a single strong currency apart from the dollar ... to form the basis of our oil."

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, echoed the sentiment Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, saying that "the empire of the dollar at the end."

"Do you not see how the dollar is in free fall without a parachute?" Chavez said, calling the euro a better option.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had tried to steer the attention of the summit to study the impact of the oil industry on the environment, but he continually face challenges Chavez and Ahmadinejad.

Iran and Venezuela have suggested trading oil in a basket of currencies to replace the historic link to the dollar, but they had been unable to generate enough support from fellow OPEC-many of whom , including Saudi Arabia, the United States staunch allies.

Both Iran and Venezuela have antagonistic relations with the United States, suggesting their proposals may have a political motivation as well. While Tehran has been at an impasse with Washington over its nuclear program, from Chavez is a bitter antagonist of Bush. US sanctions on Iran have also become increasingly difficult for the country to do business in dollars.

During Chavez's opening speech of the summit on Saturday, the leader of Venezuela said OPEC should "establish itself as an active politician." But Abdullah seems to move away from Chavez's comments, saying OPEC always acted wisely and moderately.

A day earlier, Saudi Arabia by a movement opposed to Iran on Friday, the OPEC included concerns over the falling dollar included in the closing statement after the summit meeting on weekends end. In Saudi Arabia, even the Minister of Foreign Affairs has warned that even talking publicly about the currency could be further depreciate its value.

But on Sunday, it appears that Saudi Arabia had compromised. Although the final statement delivered Sunday does not refer specifically concerned about the weak dollar, the organization has directed its finance ministers to study the matter.

OPEC will "explore ways to strengthen financial cooperation between OPEC ... including proposals for some of the Heads of State and Governments, in their statements at the summit," OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El Badri said, reading the statement.

Iran's Petroleum Minister went further and said OPEC will form a committee to study the impact of the dollar on the price of oil and to explore the possibility of a basket of currencies.

"We have decided to establish a committee composed of the ministers of finance and oil from OPEC countries to study the impact of the dollar on the price of oil," Gholam Hussein Nozari told Dow Jones Newswires.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al Shahristani said that the committee should "submit to OPEC its recommendation on a basket of currencies of OPEC members will be treated." He did not give a timetable for the recommendation.

The meeting in Riyadh, with the heads of state and delegates from 13 major oil-producing countries, is the third summit of OPEC since the organization was founded in 1960.

Abdullah tried to avoid the focus on the discussion of the dollar, by announcing the donation of 300 million dollars to implement a program to study the effects of the oil industry on the environment. Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also agreed to donate $ 150 million each to the fund, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said Sunday.

Preparations for the meeting has been dominated by speculation that OPEC could increase production following the recent increases in oil prices that approached $ 100. But cartel officials have resisted the pressure to increase oil production and said they will hold off any decision until the group meets next month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

They also doubt the effect of any increase in production would have on oil prices, saying that the recent rise has been fueled by the falling dollar and financial speculation by investment funds rather than a any shortage.

During his closing remarks, El Badri stressed that it was committed to the offer but did not mention the evolution of petroleum products.

"We affirm our determination to continue to provide ... adequate, timely, efficient, economical and reliable supplies of oil on the world market," he said.