ITALY ON BOARD WITH IRAN/IAEA BOG VIEWS; MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001692 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2014 TAGS: KNNP PARM PREL MNUC TRGY IR IAEA SUBJECT: ITALY ON BOARD WITH IRAN/IAEA BOG VIEWS; MORE READOUT ON FRATTINI-KHARAZZI MEETING REF: A) STATE 92527 B) ROME 1596 CLASSIFIED BY: POL MINISTER-COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.5 (B)( D). ¶1. (C) MFA DIRECTOR FOR NON-PROLIFERATION GIOVANNI IANNUZZI SAID THAT ITALY AGREES COMPLETELY WITH US VIEWS ON IRAN'S INTENTIONS FOR ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM, AND THAT THE IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING SHOULD REINFORCE INTERNATIONAL CONCERNS AS EXPRESSED REF A. "WE COULD HAVE WRITTEN THEM OURSELVES" HE SAID. ITALY HAS ALREADY STARTED DISCUSSING WITH OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THE NEED FOR A STRONG STATEMENT FROM THE JUNE BOG MEETING. ¶2. (C) IANNUZZI SAID IRANIAN FM KHARAZZI TOLD FM FRATTINI DURING THEIR APRIL 19 THAT IRAN'S FIRST PRIORITY FOR THE JUNE BOG TO BE THE LAST IN WHICH ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM WAS A POINT OF DISCUSSION, AND WILL MAKE THAT CLEAR TO ALL BOG MEMBERS. KHARAZZI SAID IRAN HAD COMPLIED WITH "ALMOST ALL" EU-3 DEMANDS AND HAD RECEIVED NO RECOGNITION FOR ITS EFFORTS. ACCORDING TO IANNUZZI, KHARAZZI EMPHASIZED TO FRATTINI THAT ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION OF IRAN'S PROGRAM BY THE IAEA AFTER THE JUNE BOG WOULD BE A MAJOR "INTERNAL PROBLEM" IN IRAN. ¶3. (C) FRATTINI'S RESPONSE TO KHARAZZI WAS STRONG AND UNEQUIVOCAL, ACCORDING TO IANNUZZI IRAN WAS STILL NOT COMPLYING WITH A NUMBER OF CRITICAL IAEA COMMITMENTS AND EU-3 RECOMMENDATIONS, AND ITALY WILL RECOMMEND THAT THE IAEA BOG REPORT IN JUNE WILL URGE IRAN TO ADDRESS ALL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, SAID FRATTINI, IRAN MUST ALLOW AND COOPERATE ACTIVELY ON FULL INSPECTIONS OF ITS NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AS CALLED FOR BY THE IAEA. VISIT ROME'S CLASSIFIED WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.STATE.SGOV.GOV/P/EUR/ROME/INDEX.CF M SEMBLER NNNN 2004ROME01692 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL