TOURISM MINISTER AND PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004103 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2026 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS IR TU SUBJECT: TOURISM MINISTER AND PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISIT IRAN Classified By: Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koc led a Turkish delegation to Iran in late June to promote tourism. At the same time, MP Ahmet Inal led a separate parliamentary delegation to Iran. The Koc delegation signed a cultural exchange agreement with Iran, but was unable to sign an agreement regarding tourism flights. The Inal delegation was introduced to a heavy dose of Iranian propaganda regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. End Summary. -------------- Koc,s Visit to Iran -------------- ¶2. (C) Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koc led an official delegation to Turkey from June 17 to 21. The delegation met with the Iranian Deputy President and the Iranian cultural and tourism organization chairman Rahim Mesai. They visited Tehran, Tabriz, Istafan, and Qom. The Koc delegation's stated goals were to arrange for twice-weekly Turkish Airlines (THY) charter flights from Tehran to the tourist destination spot of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast and increase the number of Iranian tourists in Turkey from 900,000 per year to 1.5 million per year. MFA First Secretary and Iran Desk Officer Aziz Sevi told us that Koc's delegation signed a cultural exchange agreement with the Iranians, but was unable to reach an agreement on direct THY charter flights to Antalya. Press reports indicated that Iran and Turkey also agreed to establish a joint working group on tourism and that Tabriz University would open a Turkish Language and Literature department. ¶3. (C) We met with Reha Camuroglu --- a Turkish historical novelist, center-right secular politician, and Alevi --- who was a member of Koc,s official delegation to Iran. Camuroglu told us that 26 individuals participated in the delegation, although newspapers placed the number at 40. Camuroglu said that the group was received warmly in Tabriz --- an overwhelmingly ethnic Azeri Turkish region in northwestern Iran --- where a large, cheering, crowd greeted them at the airport and offered them tea. The reception in Tehran was cooler, but Koc was impressed by how open the city was and did not see or feel the overt repression he expected to encounter. -------------- Inal,s Visit to Iran -------------- ¶4. (C) Ahmet Inal (Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP for Batman) led an eleven member parliamentary delegation to Iran in late June which met with the speaker of the Iranian parliament and other Iranian officials. Inal is chairman of the Turkish-Iranian Parliamentary Friendship Group, which also includes Abdurrahim Aksoy (AKP MP for Bitlis),Mustafa Demir (AKP MP for Samsun),Nezir Nasiroglu (Republican People,s Party (CHP) MP for Batman) and Ahmet Yeni (AKP MP for Samsun). The eleven member delegation consisted of Inal, the four other members of the Friendship Group, and six additional Turkish MPs. Although this delegation was separate, it was in Iran at the same time as Koc,s group and the two delegations joined up for the tour of Istafan. ¶5. (C) MP Inal and First Secretary Sevi told us separately that the parliamentary delegation was briefed by Turkish MFA officials before their trip and provided with official Turkish talking points. Inal and Sevi also informed us that the Turkish delegation told the Iranians that Tehran must be open and transparent and cooperate with the IAEA. ¶6. (C) Before his trip, Inal portrayed himself to us as a pious Turkish Kurd whose key concerns were peace and justice. He was unaware of Iranian talking points and poorly informed about the Iranian nuclear program issue. Iranian propaganda, however, appears to have been very effective with the Friendship Group. After his trip to Iran, Inal had the Iranian talking points down pat. ¶7. (C) Inal, post-travel, rattled off the following talking ANKARA 00004103 002 OF 002 points to us: -- Iran does not want a war. -- Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons and an Iranian mullah has issued a fatwa against all WMDs. -- Iran is fully complying with the IAEA. There are 500 TV cameras observing Iranian sites, Iran has submitted 50,000 pages of documentation to the IAEA, and there are 2,000 inspectors in Iran. -- Iran has a right to nuclear power under the NPT and they need nuclear power so they can sell their oil abroad to earn money to provide a better life for their poor people. -- Iran is being unfairly singled out because there are other countries which have either not signed the NPT or have serious IAEA violations. ¶8. (C) Comment. The Turkish government remains a strong supporter of the international consensus that Iran must comply with its IAEA obligations. We have been effective in persuading the highest levels of the Turkish government, including senior members of the governing AKP, the military, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will continue to make our case with other members of the Turkish political class and the Turkish public. End Comment. 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