UAE LEADERS RECEIVE IRAN'S ALI LARIJANI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001835

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STATE FOR NEA/IR AND NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2011
TAGS: PREL PINS KPAO IR AE
SUBJECT: UAE LEADERS RECEIVE IRAN'S ALI LARIJANI

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Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission, Martin R. Quinn, reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).


1. (C) UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Vice
President/Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid al-Maktoum separately received Secretary General
of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani May

3. According to local press reports, President Khalifa urged
Larijani "to support development efforts that would ensure
prosperity for the peoples of the region," and expressed the
UAE's commitment to stability, security, and peace in the
Gulf and Middle East region. "The course of events in the
region shows that there is a dire need for as much
coordination and cooperation as possible to make this part of
the world an oasis of security and stability," Khalifa told
Larijani. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed
mentioned that the Iranian official was coming when he met
April 30 with Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey and
Ambassador, observing that it could become embarrassing for
the GCC to have to tell visitors like Larijani that they are
"not welcome."


2. (U) For his part, Larijani reportedly briefed Khalifa on
Iran's stance on its nuclear program and its standoff with
the U.S. Larijani assured GCC states that its nuclear
program poses no threat to them and that under no
circumstance will Iran attack them. He dismissed the GCC's
security concerns as "baseless." Larijani also said he
welcomed "any effort by the GCC in addressing the crisis over
our nuclear program to help defuse international pressure on
Iran and spare the region more troubles." Larijani added,
"Has Iran ever attacked any neighborly country, to do this
now?" Larijani asked. He asserted that it is instead
Americans who have "proved that they are aggressors in times
of peace and war." The local Arabic and English press played
Larijani's visit on their front pages. During his UAE visit,
Larijani also paid a symbolic visit to the mausoleum of the
late UAE President Zayed.


3. (U) Speaking at a press conference, Larijani said Iran was
prepared to go for dialogue on the nuclear dossier, "provided
that our rights are not undermined." He said he was
confident that the GCC leaders would not side with the U.S.
in its confrontation with Iran "because they were aware of
the U.S. Administration's double standards policies."
Larijani further accused the U.S. of courting dissent in the
region, according to the official UAE news agency, WAM. "The
U.S. is now planting seeds of discord between Shiite and
Sunni Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere in the region," he said.
On the Iranian nuclear dossier, Larijani said he believed the
GCC leaders were all in favor of a peaceful solution. This
approach, he noted, did not fit well with the U.S.
Administration's policy "which has a different agenda for the
entire region," WAM reported. On the subject of U.S.-Iran
relations, Larijani said "dialogue with the U.S. on Iraq is
derived by our keenness to back the Iraqi people in their
present ordeal," denying that the dialogue came at Iran's
initiative. "We have never invited the Americans for
dialogue. The initiative came from the new Iraqi
leadership." (Note: President Ahmadinejad recently indicated
that with the establishment of an Iraqi government, there is
no longer any need for talks with the U.S. on Iraq. End
Note.)


4. (U) On the issue of the disputed islands which Iran
occupies, Larijani dismissed the conflict as "a minor one,
compared to the two countries' strong historical ties. ...
Iran and the UAE have achieved record progress in their
economic and business cooperation. This relationship is
based on mutual benefit." Referring to UAE and GCC concerns
over Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, Larijani denied that the
plant posed any threat to the region. "This plant does not
emit any harmful radiation," he said, noting that nuclear
fuel will be transported to the plant after one year. "The
whole row has been fabricated by the U.S." Iran has invested
huge funds to guarantee the safety of these facilities,
Larijani told the press. "We have never been aggressors. We
have achieved this advanced level of progress using our own
resources, without seeking any external assistance. We
always pursue peaceful means," he said.


5. (U) Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Larijani as telling
Sheikh Khalifa that over the past three years, Iran provided
IAEA with access beyond the Additional Protocol, including
over 2000 inspections. He claimed the IAEA supervises Iran's
"entire" nuclear activities and that Iran has reported all of
its programs to the agency.


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UAE-based Think Tanks Focus on Iran
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6. (U) Meanwhile, the two major independent think tanks in
the UAE have been organizing programs directly and indirectly
related to Iran. Later this month, the Emirates Center for
Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) will be hosting a
lecture by Dr. Sayed Ali al-Mongy of the Egyptian Atomic
Energy Authority on Iran's nuclear program. An ECSSR contact
told Pol chief that the aim of the program is to give
participants a technical understanding of Iran's nuclear
program. The Dubai-based Gulf Research Center (GRC) hosted
May 2-3 the third in a series of meetings that are part of
its research project to promote declaring the Gulf region a
Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ),to be reported
by ConGen Dubai septel. (Note: In December 2005, GCC
Secretary General Abdul Rahman al-Attiyah endorsed the idea

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of a Gulf WMDFZ. End Note.) In March, GRC published "The
Case for a Weapon of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Gulf"
by Senior Advisor and Research Program Director Dr. Mustafa
Alani.
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