Good Morning- NY walks into the USD trading on the back foot after a few
stories
making the rounds- first citing on various wires is the potential
escalation of
the situation with Iran with a second carrier group being sent to the
region
(Although this is abt 7 days old)- along with that there is an Arab
Times
article citing unnamed sources saying the US will launch a military
strike
before April of this year. Ive attached it below.... Most flows have
been from
s/t models stopping out of USD longs... have already taken out a good
amount of
stops- now watching 1.3050 EUR/USD, 121.00 USD/JPY, and 1.2380 and
1.2340 in
USD/CHF....
US military strike on Iran seen by April '07; Sea-launched attack to
hit oil,
N-sites
KUWAIT CITY: Washington will launch a military strike on Iran before
April 2007,
say sources. The attack will be launched from the sea and Patriot
missiles will
guard all oil-producing countries in the region, they add. Recent
statements
emanating from the United States indicate the Bush administration's new
strategy
for Iraq doesn't include any proposal to make a compromise or negotiate
with
Syria or Iran. A reliable source said President Bush recently held a
meeting
with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
Secretary of
State Dr Condoleezza Rice and other assistants in the White House where
they
discussed the plan to attack Iran in minute detail.
According to the source, Vice President Dick Cheney highlighted the
threat posed
by Iran to not only Saudi Arabia but the whole region. "Tehran is not
playing
politics. Iranian leaders are using their country's religious influence
to
support the aggressive regime's ambition to expand," the source quoted
Dick
Cheney as saying. Indicating participants of the meeting agreed to
impose
restrictions on the ambitions of Iranian regime before April 2007
without
exposing other countries in the region to any danger, the source said
"they have
chosen April as British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said it will be
the last
month in office for him. The United States has to take action against
Iran and
Syria before April 2007."
Claiming the attack will be launched from the sea and not from any
country in
the region, he said "the US and its allies will target the oil
installations and
nuclear facilities of Iran ensuring there is no environmental
catastrophe or
after effects." "Already the US has started sending its warships to the
Gulf and
the build-up will continue until Washington has the required number by
the end
of this month," the source said. "US forces in Iraq and other countries
in the
region will be protected against any Iranian missile attack by an
advanced
Patriot missile system."
He went on to say "although US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and
Secretary of
State Dr Condoleezza Rice suggested postponing the attack, President
Bush and
Vice President Dick Cheney insisted on attacking Tehran without any
negotiations
based on the lesson they learnt in Iraq recently." The Bush
administration
believes attacking Iran will create a new power balance in the region,
calm down
the situation in Iraq and pave the way for their democratic project,
which had
to be suspended due to the interference of Tehran and Damascus in Iraq,
he
continued. The attack on Iran will weaken the Syrian regime, which will
eventually fade away, the source said.