GOF CONDEMNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT'S ANTI-ISRAEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 007398

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM IR FR
SUBJECT: GOF CONDEMNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT'S ANTI-ISRAEL
RHETORIC, CONVOKES IRANIAN AMBASSADOR

REF: STATE 199225

Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS
ONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) Poloff met October 28 with Benoit Knopper, the MFA's
desk officer for Iran, to deliver reftel talking points on
the Iranian President's increasing extremism. Knopper noted
the GOF's statements condemning the Iranian President's
rhetoric. Furthermore, Knopper said, the MFA had convoked in
the morning of October 27 Sadegh Kharazzi, the Iranian
Ambassador to France, for "clarifications" regarding
President Ahmadi-Nejad's October 25 call for Israel to be
"wiped off the map." Informal translations of FM
Douste-Blazy's statement, an MFA statement, and President
Chirac's statement are at paras 3, 4, 5, respectively.


2. (C) Poloff also raised Ahmadi-Nejad's statement and the
GOF reaction during a discussion on other issues with Herve
Besancenot, the MFA's DAS-equivalent for Egypt and the
Levant. Besancenot said the MFA had been "very tough" during
its demarche to the Iranian Ambassador. Still, Besancenot
said he could not imagine France joining Israel's reported
call for Iran's exclusion from the UN. According to
Besancenot, Israeli FM Shalom never called for Iran's
exclusion during a private meeting and subsequent press
conference with FM Douste-Blazy on October 27 (septel). When
asked about President Chirac's statement (see para 5) in
which he said Iran was at risk of being banished from the
international community due to Ahmadi-Nejad's comments,
Besancenot said Chirac was referring to Iran isolating
itself; this did not mean that France would push to isolate
Iran.


3. (U) Informal translation of FM Douste-Blazy's October 26
statement:

"If these statements (of President Ahmadi-Nejad) are in fact
reported correctly, they are unacceptable. I condemn them
with the greatest firmness. I have demanded that the Iranian
Ambassador in Paris be convoked to the Quai d'Orsay in order
to obtain explanations. For France, Israel's right to exist
can never be contested."


4. (U) Informal translation of the MFA's October 27 press
statement:

"As the Minister (Douste-Blazy) demanded, the Iranian
Ambassador in Paris, Mr. Sadegh Kharrazi, was convoked this
morning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was asked for
clarifications regarding the speech given the day before by
his president on the occasion of a conference in Teheran on
the theme "The world without Zionism" in which the president
called for "wiping Israel off the map."

The Ambassador was reminded that Israel's right to exist
cannot be contested. The Israeli-Palestinian question cannot
serve as a pretext for questioning this fundamental right.
We repeated our condemnation to him of President
Ahmadinejad's remarks. The Ambassador took note of our
demarche and indicated that he would relay it to his
authorities."


5. (U) Informal translation of President Chirac's October 27
statement at the informal European Summit at Hampton Roads:

"...I was profoundly shocked by the declarations of the
Iranian president. I find them, frankly, insane and
irresponsible. The Iranian president is running the risk of
his country being banished from the international community;
which is, for a great country like Iran, an unacceptable
situation. This being said, there has also been an EU
declaration led by the British presidency, which has been
approved and should be being distributed right now."
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
Hofmann