TURKISH MFA READ-OUT OF IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001213 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV TU FR UK AU GR CH IS SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA READ-OUT OF IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE CHAIR BOROUJERDI'S VISIT Classified By: DCM Nancy McEldowney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: MFA Deputy Director General (DDG) for Arms Control and Disarmament Bulent Meric briefed select missions about the March 3 visit of a delegation led by Iranian Parliamentary Foreign Policy, National Security and Defense Affairs Committee Chair Alaadin Boroujerdi to Ankara to discuss Iran's nuclear development program. According to Meric, Boroujerdi characterized Iran's position as flexible but stuck to Iran's well-known arguments in support of its decision to resume nuclear energy development. Turkey made clear its concerns about Iran's nuclear development program and outlined specific steps Iran would need to take regain the international community's confidence. The Iranians rebuffed Turkey's suggestions and defended Iran's nuclear program as comparable to that of Israel. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) DDG Meric, flanked by MFA South Asia Department Head Murat Ulku, Arms Control and Disarmament Department Head Osman Yavuzalp and Arms Control and Disarmament First Secretary Guven Begec, on March 6 briefed representatives of SIPDIS the EU-3, Russian, Chinese, Austrian and US missions on the visit of Iranian Parliamentary Committee Chair and several other Iranian MPs. Meric stressed that the visit was conducted on short notice at the request of Iran as part of the Government of Iran's (GOI) program to visit "pivotal" countries in the region. As a result of the late notice, the delegation was unable to secure all requested meetings or conduct a PR event. The delegation was received by Parliamentary Speaker Bulent Arinc and Acting FM and State Minister Besir Atalay. They met with the Chair of the Turkish Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs Mehmet Dulger, NSC Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan and MFA U/S Ali Tuygan. ¶3. (U) Boroujerdi reiterated Iran's well-known arguments in favor of its resumption of nuclear development activities, according to Meric, stating that Iran has been working on nuclear energy since the Shah's reign and will not compromise on the right to acquire a nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment. Iran's discussions with Russia were proof of the GOI's willingness to maintain a dialogue, Boroujerdi stated. Iran is prepared to conduct uranium enrichment in Russia through a joint partnership as long as it can continue its scientific enrichment activities at Natanz. Meric said the delegation exhibited no flexibility on this issue, claiming that Iran has already done "the utmost." ¶4. (C) The Government of Turkey (GOT) warned that Iran's nuclear activities and international stance were a concern for Turkey and threatened to escalate into a regional or global conflict, Meric underscored. The GOT pointed to a justified lack of confidence by the international community in Iran's nuclear activities and called on the GOI to provide the necessary security guarantees to become fully compliant with IAEA standards. GOT officials emphasized that the Feb. 4 IAEA report of Iran to the UN Security Council sent a clear political message to Iran. However, since that time, Iran has lost further ground with its removal of survey equipment from Natanz, resolution of small-scale enrichment and other actions. Iran is facing international isolation and should "do what's needed" to resume the EU-3 dialogue in order to reach a common understanding of the scope and parameters of necessary security guarantees. ¶5. (C) In a separate read-out on Mar. 8, Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Chair's diplomatic advisor Ates Oktem told us the Turkish Parliament is united in its belief that Iran should not stand alone against the world and should "give up" its nuclear program and comply with the IAEA. He said that Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Dulger specifically pulled together a cross-party group to give that consensus message to Boroujerdi in person. According to Oktem, Turkish experts believe Iran has completed 3 of the 5 production stages of a nuclear weapon and are convinced that Iran's program is not for peaceful purposes. ¶6. (SBU) Responding to a question about Iran's reaction to this message, Murat Ulku said the delegation responded negatively to Turkey's points, drawing a parallel between Iran's actions and those of Israel, and noting that Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty allows for the peaceful use of nuclear energy by member states. Meric said that Turkey contested the comparison with Israel, noting a difference between Iran's secret 20-year nuclear development program and Israel's compliance with IAEA safeguards, and underscoring that Iran had to convince the international community that its intentions are genuine. ¶7. (SBU) The MFA press statement that was released following the visit did not contain the strong language regarding Turkey's concerns with the Iranian nuclear program that was purportedly communicated to the delegation. It did state that Turkey recommended Iran resume negotiations with the EU-3 and cooperate with the IAEA with "full transparency." COMMENT: While a stronger statement might have kept the Iranians from characterizing the visit in what Ulku called "overly positive" terms and would have sent a clearer message to the domestic and international communities, the private messages the MFA said the government conveyed are the right ones. END COMMENT. WILSON