FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIS VISIT TO IRAN; PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003902


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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015
TAGS: PARM PGOV PREL PBTS IZ IR KU
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIS VISIT TO IRAN; PRESIDENT
AHMADINEJAD, FM MATTOUKI, AND FORMER PRESIDENT RAFSANJANI

REF: KUWAIT 03827

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


1. (C) Summary. Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah
Al-Salem Al-Sabah sat with the Ambassador on August 30 to
discuss his trip to Tehran, two days earlier. The visit
itself last four hours on the ground and included meetings
with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new Foreign Minister,
Manouchechr Mattouki, and former President Hashemi
Rafsanjani. As mentioned in reftel, the FM raised three
topics of concern: the Iranian nuclear program, Iraq, and the
disputed maritime border between the two countries. The FM
found Ahmadinejad stuck in campaign mode and focused almost
exclusively on economic issues while Foreign Minister,
Manouchechr Mattouki, was more "realistic" about foreign
policy. The FM also met former President Rafsanjani, who
ridiculed the notion of "Iranian" nuclear technology. The
Foreign Minister pointed out that Ahmadinejad's upcoming trip
to New York for UNGA meetings afforded a good opportunity to
begin to bring external influences to his parochial
worldview. End Summary.

Iran's Nuclear Program
--------------


2. (C) In his first meeting with the new President of Iran,
the FM cautioned Ahmadinejad not to underestimate the
international reaction to the nuclear issue, especially
western and U.S. opinion. The FM stated that that it was a
serious matter, not one of politics. The US-EU positions had
converged, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed told Ahmadinejad, and the GOK
shared their concerns. The FM urged Ahmadinejad to rethink
the EU-3 proposal. He advised that Kuwaiti concern emanates
from the fact that the reactor site is so close to the
Kuwaiti border. Continuing, the FM stated that technological
and safety standards should be on par with international
standards, and that the Europeans have technology that would
ease concerns. Regarding the undeclared program, the Kuwaiti
advised that the GOI should cooperate with the IAEA.


3. (C) In response, Ahmadinejad said that that the Islamic
world had a right to such (nuclear) power and a fatwa raised
by the FM, which forbade the development and manufacture of
nuclear weapons, was moot as Iran's use for nuclear
technology was for civilian purposes only. In a separate
meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed raised
his concerns about the program with FM Mattouki. The new FM
was more realistic, telling Shaykh Dr. Mohammed that he would
like to work with the EU-3 on a solution. Shaykh Dr.
Mohammed also met with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani
who initially brushed off GOK's concern that the technology
would be Russian, joking that "indigenous Iranian" technology
would actually build the reactor. The FM then reminded him
that the Russian blueprint is the same as the one used for
the ill-fated Chernobyl plant. Rafsanjani responded "we
would love to have European technology" to build the reactor
but after the German contract foundered, Iran was forced to
look at the Russian models. Rafsanjani added that he would
"go straight to western technology" if he could.

Iraq's Need for External Forces
--------------


4. (C) On Iraq, President Ahmadinejad stated that the
presence of U.S troops was "fueling the terrorists" in Iraq
and the U.S. shared responsibility for Iraq's instability.
The FM countered that the U.S. and international troops were
not part of the problem but of the solution and that if they
were to withdraw, "all hell would break loose." The FM added
that the problem would not be so bad for Kuwait since it does
not suffer from ethnic and sectarian problems as do other
states in the region. He pointed out that the IIG had asked
for the international troops to stay in Iraq. Additionally,
the FM pointed out, U.S. troops were present in the region to
ensure regional stability, not just for Iraq. The FM went on
to say that he advised Ahmadinejad to listen more to the
Iraqi President and Foreign Minister of Iraq and to their
concerns.

The President's Interest - "It's the Economy, Stupid"
-------------- --------------


5. (C) On his third point, Shaykh Mohammed asked Ahmadinejad
to increase his dialogue with the GCC. Commenting that
Ahmadinejad said some things during his presidential campaign
which made his neighbors uncomfortable, the FM counseled
Ahmadinejad to improve his relations with the GCC. The FM
and the Iranian President discussed the GOK's desire to
import water and gas from Iran, a topic of interest to
Ahmadinejad. The FM remarked to us that the President was
not focused on anything that was not directly linked to the
economy. Shaykh Dr. Mohammed then broached the question of
restarting discussions on the disputed maritime border
between Kuwait and Iran, but Ahmadinejad offered no
indication that he knew the issue in any detail.


6. (C) Manouchechr Mattouki, a former Deputy Foreign
Minister for International Affairs and former chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee in Parliament, told Shaykh Dr.
Mohammed that the new President was "not fond" of foreign
policy. Reminding the Kuwaiti FM that Ahmadinejad was
elected on an economic platform, he said that the President
had a disdain for foreign policy. On the possibility of
restarting talks, Mattouki said that the resolution of the
disputed Continental Shelf issue was very important to
Iran-Kuwaiti relations and that the Foreign Ministry was
willing to engage the GOK on it. (Note: Shaykh Dr. Mohammed
told the Ambassador that previous solutions to the
Continental Shelf issue had been vetoed by the Iranian
Ministry of Oil or by lesser offices within other ministries.
He surmised that as the topic was one of national security
interest, that the vetoes were actually coming from the
office of National Security or some other powerful but
unforeseen body. He cautioned that he did not put a lot of
weight in the ability of individual ministries to resolve
issues on their own. End Note)

A New York Opportunity
--------------


7. (C) The FM spoke at length about the opportunity which
would present itself when Ahmadinejad traveled to New York to
attend UNGA meetings. Shaykh Mohammed said that the trip
would allow Ahmadinejad to hear others perceptions of Iran,
"straight from the horse's mouth." It would also let
Ahmadinejad be exposed to other elements in the western world
which might expand his viewpoint. Although Shaykh Mohammed
found Ahmadinejad to still be stuck in campaign mode and
lecturing rather than talking, he believed that the upcoming
trip to New York could help widen the President's worldview.

Cheap Suits and Moderation
--------------


8. (C) Shaykh Mohammed added one last item about his trip to
Tehran. He said that Ahmadinejad's office was very modest
and his suit fabric was simple and plain. The FM remarked
that it would be interesting to see if the trappings of
office and the suit material improves after a year in office.


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LEBARON