KUWAITI PRIME MINISTER WARNS IRANIANS OVER

S E C R E T KUWAIT 003726

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI
EB/ESC/IEC FOR DOWDY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2014
TAGS: PREL EPET KU IR IZ
SUBJECT: KUWAITI PRIME MINISTER WARNS IRANIANS OVER
CONTINUED URANIUM ENRICHMENT

REF: A. 03 KUWAIT 5719

B. 03 KUWAIT 5756

C. KUWAIT 3544

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (S) A senior official in the Prime Minister's Diwan told
Poloff on October 31 that Kuwaiti Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah
al-Ahmed warned Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi during
his October 25 visit to Kuwait that Iran should "look at
Iraq" as an example of what happens to countries that defy
the will of the international community. During the course
of a four hour meeting between the two, the official reported
the Iranians repeatedly stressed that their enrichment
activities were for peaceful purposes only and would not,
under any circumstances, be halted. He said the Iranian
Foreign Minister insisted that Iran had a right to pursue
alternative energy sources, and in response to the Prime
Minister's comments, replied that "Iraq was different."


2. (S) On Iraq, the official relayed that FM Kharazi told the
Kuwaiti PM that "(Iran) had fixed the problems in Najaf and
Karbala," and that achieving stability in Iraq was an Iranian
objective. The official said there was no discussion by
either party of press reports of mass IRGC and MOIS
infiltrations along the Iran-Iraq border (ref C).


3. (C) When queried on the status of possible gas and water
pipeline deals between Kuwait and Iran (refs A and B),the
official asserted, "This will never happen."


4. (S) Comment: The Iranian remarks about Najaf and Karbala,
while not specific, constitute an implicit confession of
Iranian meddling in central and southern Iraq. As for
Kuwaiti-Iranian relations, the lack of frank talk between the
two parties, coupled with our source's assertion that Kuwait
would "never" ink a commercial deal with Iran -- even for
desperately needed gas -- indicates the deep mistrust which
still characterizes the Kuwaiti-Iranian bilateral
relationship.

*********************************************
Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/

You can also access this site through the
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website
*********************************************
LeBaron