FM TO RAISE IRAQ, IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003827

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2015
TAGS: PARM PGOV PREL PBTS IZ IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
SUBJECT: FM TO RAISE IRAQ, IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM, AND
KUWAITI-IRANIAN MARITIME BOUNDARY IN UPCOMING VISIT TO IRAN

REF: KUWAIT 2548

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


1. (C) The Ambassador met August 27 with Foreign Minister
Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah at the latter's
invitation to discuss the FM's one-day visit to Iran on
August 28. The FM said that he would raise three "issues of
concern" with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- Iraq,
the Iranian nuclear program, and the disputed Kuwaiti-Iranian
maritime boundary -- and that he welcomed U.S. views on these
matters. The FM mentioned that he would "congratulate"
Ahmadinejad on his election and would invite him to visit
Kuwait. The Ambassador provided points received from
Department emphasizing continued U.S. support for EU-3
efforts. (Note: Earlier in the day, the EU-3 representatives
met with the FM. In addition to the standard points tracking
our own, the British Ambassador advised the Ambassador that
the EU-3 told the FM that there would be no EU "fudging" on
the issue of uranium conversion. End note.)

Iraq
--------------


2. (C) On Iraq, the FM said he did not expect the new
Iranian government to change its policy, but he would
nonetheless encourage Ahmadinejad to use Iranian influence to
help stabilize the situation in Iraq, which was currently "a
major item of concern" to Kuwait. He confided to the
Ambassador that Kuwait was also trying to convince "people we
have contact with" in Iraq to help secure the situation in
the country.

Iran
--------------


3. (C) Regarding Iran's nuclear program, the FM said Kuwait
was "very concerned" about the presence of a nuclear reactor
in the Gulf and the possibility of a nuclear accident with
catastrophic environmental ramifications. The Ambassador
argued, however, that of greater concern was the possibility
of a nuclear-armed state emerging in the Gulf. The
Ambassador added that the international community needed to
do everything it could to delay Iran obtaining nuclear
weapons, given Iran's demonstrated determination to obtain
this capability.


4. (C) The FM asked if the provision of safe nuclear
technology would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons
in the short term. The Ambassador stressed that Iran, under
every government, has demonstrated a clear determination to
develop a nuclear bomb and therefore acquiring safe nuclear
technology did not appear to be its priority. The FM said he
did not dispute the fact that the current Iranian government
wanted nuclear weapons, but that Kuwait believed the best
tack to pursue was to argue to Iran that if it really wanted
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes it should accept the
EU-3 deal, which would ensure Iran had access to the most
advanced, safest nuclear technology. The FM concluded that
he would present the Gulf countries' concern about Iran's
nuclear program to Ahmadinejad. The FM also mentioned that
he met with the EU-3 ambassadors the morning of August 27,
but did not elaborate on their conversation.

Kuwaiti-Iranian Maritime Boundary
--------------


5. (C) Regarding the disputed Kuwaiti-Iranian maritime
boundary, the FM said he would suggest to Ahmadinejad that
the two countries reconvene bilateral meetings to negotiate a
resolution to the boundary issue.

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LEBARON