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