Sabah daily columnist Erdal Safak wrote in March 2006 that an unspecified "secret report" circulating among Western governments urged caution about the week of 20-26 March, predicting the most significant political and economic turbulence since the end of the Cold War.
Two events that week were identified as potential triggers: Iran's inauguration of a Tehran oil exchange conducting transactions in euros rather than dollars, and the US Federal Reserve's decision, effective 23 March, to stop publishing M3 data, the broadest measure of dollars in global circulation.
Safak explained that the Tehran bourse could allow Europe to purchase oil in its own currency, undermining the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. Analysts cited in the column suggested the euro-dollar exchange rate could climb to 1.70 by year's end if the trend continued.
The suspension of M3 reporting, Safak wrote, was interpreted by some observers as a way to conceal an expansion of the US money supply intended to cover foreign debt, a move that could destabilize China's dollar-denominated reserves and disrupt global trade.
Türkiye's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had publicly stated that Türkiye was unconcerned by Iran's nuclear program, though Safak noted the broader Western mood remained uneasy.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2006, in its own words.