SAUDI ROYAL ADVISOR'S IMPRESSIONS OF IRANIAN

S E C R E T RIYADH 009146

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.
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