SUBJECT: UAE PROMISES CONTINUED COOPERATION ON

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ABU DHABI 004227

SIPDIS

NOFORN

STATE FOR NP U/S JOSEPH, PMCNERNEY, NP/RA CRUSSELL, NP/CBM,
NP/ECC, NEA/ARPI
NSC FOR DSTEPHENS
USDOC FOR BIS ACTING U/S PLICHTENBAUM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2015
TAGS: ETTC KNNP PARM IR PK TC SY NK
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: UAE PROMISES CONTINUED COOPERATION ON
COUNTERPROLIFERATION

Classified By: (U) Classified by Ambassador Michele Sison for reasons 1
.5(b) and (d).


1. (S) Summary: On October 1-2, 2005, Under Secretary for
Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph,
National Security Director for Counterproliferation Strategy
David Stephens, and T Senior Advisor Patricia McNerney met
with UAE officials to discuss the issue of Iran,s nuclear
program. The delegation also encouraged the UAE to
participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative and
proposed a bilateral US/UAE Counterproliferation Task Force
that would enhance cooperation at both the policy level and
the experts level to address proliferation issues. Both
Hamdan bin Zayed al Nahyan (Deputy Prime Minister and
MinState for Foreign Affairs),and his brother, Abdullah bin
Zayed al Nahyan (Information Minister) expressed grave
concern about the Iranian threat to the UAE and regional
stability. They supported international diplomatic efforts
to bring Iran to account for its nuclear program. Both
leaders welcomed the proposed Counterproliferation Task
Force, agreeing that the UAE needed to do more to address the
problem of proliferation. The delegation also met with the
Central Bank Governor to discuss ways to take action against
the income and assets of proliferators (septel). The final
meeting was with the head of Dubai,s State Security Office
where the delegation heard a description of the UAE,s own
nascent interagency nonproliferation task force and discussed
specific cases. End summary.

HbZ Promises Full Support to Diplomatic Efforts on Iran
-------------- --------------


2. (S) On October 1, the delegation and Ambassador met with
HbZ bin Zayed Al Nahyan (HbZ ) Deputy Prime Minister and
MinState Foreign Affairs). HbZ began the meeting by assuring
Under Secretary Joseph of the UAE,s continued cooperation
with the U.S. He expressed serious concerns about the
nuclear program in Iran. Joseph shared his appreciation for
the strong strategic relationship with the UAE and agreed
that it is important to the entire international community to
fight terrorism and to combat proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. HbZ reiterated the UAE,s full support in
this effort, including the federal government and local
(emirate-level) governments. He said further that the UAE is
very keen to preserve regional stability, thereby preserving
the relative stability that currently exists in the UAE.


3. (S) Joseph emphasized that the implications of a nuclear
Iran are huge for both the Middle East region and the world.
He added that the recent IAEA resolution finding that Iran
was in non-compliance with its NPT obligations and safeguards
requirement was unprecedented and showed that the Iranian
activities are a threat to the entire international
community. The IAEA's finding of Iranian non-compliance will
require that the matter be referred to the U.N. Security
Council. Joseph stated the need for the world to keep the
pressure on Iran to bring them into line. HbZ asked if the
US had any information about the secret location of Iran,s
nuclear program; Joseph replied that Iran had engaged in
20-year programs of deception and concealment, adding that he
believed that continued international pressure would reveal
the full extent of the program, just as happened in Libya.


4. (S) HbZ then asked Joseph what is needed from the UAE and
what cooperation the US could offer. Joseph responded that
the UAE must continue to support the diplomatic effort to
bring Iran to account for its program. HbZ told Joseph he
had been assured by Vice President Cheney that the US would
respond to Iran through diplomatic means. HbZ opined that
military action against Iran would have catastrophic
consequences and that the UAE would therefore support any and
all diplomatic efforts to keep pressure on Iran to give up
its nuclear programs.


5. (S) Joseph reiterated that the US government prefers the
use of diplomacy to address the issue and asked HbZ his
thoughts on how to handle the Iranians. HbZ responded that
the only way to get Iran to comply is to have a unanimous
resolution at the United Nations. He said that if Russia and
China hold out, the result would provide Iran the opportunity
to avoid complying with the resolution. He said further that
Iran is very deceptive and manipulative and will never be
transparent on their own initiative. HbZ felt that the IAEA
vote strengthened the position of the EU3.


6. (S) Joseph then outlined the US proposal for a bilateral
counterproliferation task force to address the transshipment
of goods and money through the UAE in support of
proliferation of WMD. He explained E.O. 13382, blocking
property of designated WMD proliferators and their supporters
and encouraged the UAE to continue freezing assets under the
order and to consider their own legislation in this regard.
HbZ said he looked forward to future discussions with the
Ambassador regarding the task force and said it would be
important to examine airports and seaports to address the
issue. He said the media has shown the UAE in a very
negative way and he hopes there will be more successes for
the UAE in the future with the new task force.


7. (S) Joseph praised the UAE,s cooperation in the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security,s Container Security
Initiative and the U.S. Department of Energy,s Megaports
initiative. He then asked for the UAE,s participation in
the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). HbZ
acknowledged the vast amount of trade through Dubai,s ports
and said more work needs to be done to monitor trade better.
He said he would take up the issue of the PSI personally and
said he looks forward to joining.


8. (S) Regarding North Korea, Joseph asked Sheikh Hamdan that
the UAE refrain from purchasing conventional weapons from
North Korea because the revenue from such sales supports
their WMD program. He also asked the UAE,s assistance in
stopping the transit of these weapons through the UAE. HbZ
said he was unaware of the official policy of the UAE on this
issue but said he would speak to the appropriate departments.


9. (C) HbZ said the UAE is very lucky to have such an open
country and open market that attract people from all over the
world and they want to maintain that. Therefore any time a
flaw is found they want to fix it.

ABZ EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR UNANIMOUS ACTION AGAINST IRAN
-------------- --------------


10. (S) That evening, the delegation met in Dubai with
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AbZ),the Minister of
Information, who expressed to U/S Joseph that the UAE feels
Iran is a much greater threat to the UAE than to the United
States. Even without weapons of mass destruction, Iran is
difficult to deal with and is a very tough neighbor. He
emphasized that the UAE wants to be a partner in the efforts
with Iran. Joseph shared AbZ,s concerns about one of the
most serious challenges for the international community and
agreed that Iran is dangerous even without WMD, pointing out
that Iran,s combined missile and nuclear programs could
embolden Iran and make it a threat to the entire
international community. Joseph stressed that the world had
to stand up to Iran and that although Iran has invested
heavily in centrifuge technology under the guise of a
civilian program, there is no economic rational for Iran,s
enrichment capability. It must to be made clear to Iran that
there will negative consequences if they don,t go back to
the negotiating table with the EU3.


11. (S) AbZ told Joseph that Iran was much more dangerous
than North Korea, and that Iran,s nuclear ambitions would
remain no matter what regime might be in favor. AbZ said he
has heard that Iran,s nuclear program won,t stop &until
they can hit Washington DC with weapons of mass
destruction.8 AbZ faulted Russia and China for &muddying8
the message to Iran. He believes that the Iranians are
seeking a confrontation with the US, but he also believes
that the international community &can make Iran blink.8
Iran must be given a way out and, in this regard, praised
President Bush's recent proposal to provide Iran assured
access to nuclear fuel in exchange for giving up its
enrichment and reprocessing ambitions. Joseph responded that
Iran aspires to being a great country and they wrongly
believe one of the signs of a great country is a nuclear
program. He said the EU3 was offering a good package of
incentives to Iran. Joseph emphasized that the time to act
is now because it will be even harder to deal with Iran in
the future. AbZ said he thought Iran will threaten to stop
exporting oil to put pressure on the international community.


12. (S) AbZ also reported he had heard recently that Italy
and Iran had reached agreement to build a tracking satellite
for Iran. He said that Iran claims it is only a
telecommunications satellite but the UAE has serious concerns
that the satellite is meant for more.


13. (S) AbZ said that Iran had gained Afghanistan and Iraq as
part of their sphere of influence in recent years and
currently has a good relationship with Iraq. He also pointed
out that Syria has become much closer to Iran recently. AbZ
opined that if we could get any positive result out of our
dealings with Syria, it would have an impact on Iran. AbZ
said he doesn,t trust Syrian President Bashar, who believes
there are &two arms8 to Washington and that he can deal
successfully with one of the arms. (Note: AbZ last met
Bashar in Damascus on July 31.) When Joseph asked how we can
accelerate the pace of change with Syria, AbZ said the
Syrians are easier to deal with than Iran, but it will take
time. He suggested that since Turkey is a close ally of
Syria, it would be good to get Turkey,s help to apply
pressure to Syria.


14. (S) U/S Joseph described the proposed US/UAE
Counterproliferation Task Force for AbZ and also expressed
the desire for the UAE to participate in PSI, pointing out
that Singapore had hosted a PSI exercise this year and Turkey
will host a PSI exercise next year. Joseph told AbZ that the
US Congress is viewing participation in PSI as a new
good-housekeeping seal of approval for a state's commitment
to non-proliferation. . AbZ promised to review the PSI
documents, saying that more and more the concern in the UAE
is with the smaller ports. He said that Dubai,s Jebel Ali
and Rashid ports and Mina Zayed in Abu Dhabi are not as much
of a problem as in the past but that ports in the emirates of
Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah had become problematic.


15. (S) In closing, AbZ said that Al Qaeda made a strategic
mistake when it attacked on 9/11 because the attack has
brought the international community together in the fight.

DUBAI STATE SECURITY GIVES UPDATE ON CP ACTIVITIES IN DUBAI
-------------- --------------


16. (S/NF) On October 2, U/S Joseph met with Brigadier
Mohammed Al-Qemzi, Director of Dubai State Security Office,
who started the meeting by saying he was very interested in
building a national expertise in nonproliferation. He
reported that the UAEG had recently formed an interagency
nonproliferation task force, consisting of high level
representatives from the Ministries of Interior, Foreign
Affairs, and Energy, as well as representatives from the
Dubai Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation and Civil
Defense. The Ambassador asked Al Qemzi if the emirates of
Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah were represented on the task
force, but al Qemzi,s reply was a little vague, saying that
the other emirates were represented at the federal level. Al
Qemzi showed Joseph a printed power point presentation
describing the mission of the Task Force, which is to prevent
proliferators from exploiting the free and open trading
environment in the UAE to traffic in weapons of mass
destruction. Al Qemzi said this would improve the image of
Dubai, which has suffered adverse attention from high-profile
cases such as the AQ Khan proliferation network. Al Qemzi
said the task force would review national legislation and
procedures to see if tougher measures are required in order
to deter and detect proliferators operating in Dubai.
Additional training needs for officers would be reviewed and
the task force would look to increase its cooperation with
international organizations, including adopting the export
control lists of these organizations.


17. (S/NF) Al Qemzi reported that SSO had compiled a list of
28 companies that are proposed for closing because of
proliferation activities. Fifteen of the companies are
reported to have been closed. Ambassador noted that this
information had already been provided during Oct 2004 and Feb
2005 UAEG-USG meetings. Al Qemzi then advised that there was
nothing in the pipeline for future action. Al Qemzi said
some of the companies are officially owned by the Iranian
government and therefore SSO has to move carefully with these
companies, in some cases taking only administrative action,
such as refusing to renew visas for employees, to deter the
companies, proliferation activities. He conceded that some
of these companies had attempted to open up again at other
locations and under different names. Al Qemzi said that the
Iranians are well aware of these activities and are wondering
why the sudden change in Dubai,s policy towards Iran. He
said that he has heard the Iranians may have stopped their
activities in Dubai because of these recent actions taken by
Dubai.


18. (S) Joseph summarized for Al Qemzi the proposed bilateral
US-UAE nonproliferation task force and Al Qemzi welcomed such
a step. He reiterated that it was important to improve the
UAE,s image in the world.


19. (S/NF) Another problem for the Dubai authorities, said
Qemzi, is the Mahmoud Seif case, who is under indictment in
the US for the attempted diversion of night vision goggles to
Iran. Seif was released on bail by the Dubai courts.
Although his passport has been retained by the Dubai
authorities, Al Qemzi speculated that the Iranian government
might issue him a new one so that he can travel back to Iran.
He also pointed out that the Austrian authorities who
arrested Seif on the charges relating to the night vision
goggles were not concerned about Seif.


20. (S/NF) Joseph expressed concern about the Syrian WMD
programs and told Al Qemzi that the USG looks forward to
cooperation on illicit acquisition efforts by Syria.
Curiously, Al Qemzi told Joseph he had &no information8 on
such activities by the Syrians but would certainly welcome
cooperation on the issue.


21. (S/NF) Regarding North Korea, Joseph said the US is
asking countries to forgo purchasing conventional weapons
because the hard currency earned through these sales goes to
support North Korea,s WMD programs. He asked for Dubai,s
cooperation in preventing the transshipment of these
conventional weapons through the UAE. Al Qemzi and his staff
said there is &little activity by North Korea8 in the UAE,
saying one North Korean company in Dubai was closed and
another North Korean company located in the Jebel Ali Free
Zone traded in toys and plastics. Joseph pointed out that
North Korea does not trade in toys.


22. (S/NF) Al Qemzi told Joseph that he believed there was
considerable internal support in Iran for Iran,s nuclear
program and it would be hard to stop the program. He
commented on Iran,s recent movement of investment and
companies but was not sure such activity was similar to such
moves by Libya prior to the imposition of sanctions.


23. (U) This message was cleared by U/S Joseph.
QUINN