IRAN ENVOY MOSTAFAVI VISIT TO UAE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000850 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL IR AE GCC IAEA SUBJECT: IRAN ENVOY MOSTAFAVI VISIT TO UAE ¶1. (SBU) Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mehdi Mostafavi, was scheduled to meet with the UAE leadership March 6 to brief them on Iran's nuclear issue and other regional developments. Mostafavi was to meet at the MFA, according to an Embassy source, but we have no further details about the meeting participants or topics of discussion at this time. Some of the major expected issues might include calling for support for Iran's nuclear position, the recently detained Emirati fishermen, and the long-standing dispute over the three islands claimed by both Iran and the UAE. Mostafavi reportedly visited the grave of the late UAE President Sheikh Zayed. As President Ahmadinejad's special envoy in the Gulf region, Mostafavi has been touring Bahrain, Qatar, and UAE. ¶2. (U) The English daily "Gulf News" (published in the UAE) quoted Mostafavi telling reporters the night of March 4 in Manama that Iran does not believe "the U.S. is considering an attack despite its hostile policy and Israel does not want to attack Iran because it fully realizes the consequences of such an act and will not make this mistake." Mostafavi added, "Iran is not developing nuclear capabilities for political or military reasons, and we have no intention to pose ourselves as the leaders of the Muslim world or to use the nuclear threat to achieve international political or military gains. ... All we want is to meet our energy needs and upgrade our scientific abilities. Iran is continuing its peaceful nuclear research activities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and we are ready to cooperate with other countries to produce nuclear fuel." Mostafavi said Iran would not suspend its research because Europe demands it. He also played down reports that the U.S. was planning to set up a division with the State Department to strengthen ties with Iranian dissidents and monitor developments in Iran. "Establishing newspapers and TV stations targeting Iran is not new. At one time, the U.S. carried out such activities secretly, but today they are public," he said. ¶3. (U) According to Iran's official state-run news agency, IRNA (article on web site dated March 4),Mostafavi responded to a question about the three islands claimed by Iran and the UAE by saying that Iran "has always been interested in strengthening ties" with the UAE and has "taken positive steps to solve this misunderstanding." SISON