A/S HILLEN'S MEETING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER KHATIB

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003563 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV IR IZ JO SUBJECT: A/S HILLEN'S MEETING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER KHATIB Classified By: AMBASSADOR DAVID HALE, FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs John Hillen, accompanied by the Ambassador, met with Foreign Minister Al-Khatib May 3. Khatib expressed appreciation for U.S. aid to Jordan, but stressed the GOJ will need continued assistance to achieve reforms in a difficult security environment. He noted that Jordan's support for U.S. policies in Iraq, new Israeli Prime Minster Olmert, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had made it a target of extremists. Iran ¶2. (C) A/S Hillen updated Khatib on the USG's assessment of the danger posed by Iran's behavior, and emphasized that a multilateral approach was the best way to blunt Iranian ambitions. Khatib replied that uncertainty in the region on the Iranian issue was prompting Arab states to seek security with Iran on their own instead of multilaterally. He said that if the U.S. offered "clarity" on its plan for Iraq, regional players would be more likely to think and act jointly - confident that they were "on the same page." Khatib added that he himself wondered if the U.S. was planning to make a deal with Iran or if confrontation was inevitable. Export Controls ¶3. (C) A/S Hillen informed Khatib that he and Ambassador had met with Haitham Mufti, Chairman of the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (KADDB),on May 2 and that Mufti promised "total cooperation" with U.S. export control regimes. Khatib also pledged full cooperation and said that Jordan would coordinate potential sales with post to ensure compliance. HALE