SAUDI ROYAL ADVISOR'S IMPRESSIONS OF IRANIAN

S E C R E T RIYADH 009145 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2015 TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL PINR SA SUBJECT: SAUDI ROYAL ADVISOR'S IMPRESSIONS OF IRANIAN PRESIDENT AHMADINAJAD Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael Gfoeller, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (S) Royal Advisor Adel al-Jubeir contacted the Ambassador by telephone December 12 and relayed his impressions of Iranian President Ahmadinajad, whom he had briefly met at the recently concluded OIC Extraordinary Summit in Jeddah. Al-Jubeir said that Ahmadinajad had struck him "as a very, very green fellow, not stupid, but street-smart." He added, "He is not a fellow like Khomeini with a world view or vision. He is a disciple of Khomeini but with no world exposure." "The biggest city Ahmadinajad has seen is Tehran," al-Jubeir added. ¶2. (S) According to al-Jubeir, while chatting with him Ahmadinajad expressed the view that, "The US will collapse just like the Soviet Union." Al-Jubeir attempted to counter his view, observing that the Soviet Union had been an unchanging dictatorship, while the US is an adaptable democracy that changes constantly and reflects internal change in its foreign policy. ¶3. (S) Al-Jubeir commented that Ahmadinajad's remarks "demonstrate naivet or, what is worse, ignorance." He added that the Iranian president "has no clue how his public remarks to the media reach beyond Iran." ¶4. (S) In addition, al-Jubeir expressed the opinion that Ahmadinajad "scares the Iranian old guard. He is a populist who brown bags his lunch to work, is very modest, and is reported to he honest." He added that in the Saudi view, since Ahmadinajad is unpredictable, "it is best not to poke him in the eye publicly." Instead, one should raise difficult issues with him in private, al-Jubeir said, hinting that this is the tactic the Saudi government has decided to apply in its dealings with the new Iranian president. OBERWETTER