Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD1754
2006-05-25 13:14:00
SECRET
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:
SENIOR KURDISH AIDE: IRAN WANTS A DIALOGUE WITH
how-toVZCZCXRO7528 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS DE RUEHGB #1754/01 1451314 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 251314Z MAY 06 FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4694 INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001754
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2026
TAGS: PGOV IR IZ
SUBJECT: SENIOR KURDISH AIDE: IRAN WANTS A DIALOGUE WITH
THE U.S.
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001754
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2026
TAGS: PGOV IR IZ
SUBJECT: SENIOR KURDISH AIDE: IRAN WANTS A DIALOGUE WITH
THE U.S.
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
1. (S) Summary: President Talabani's Chief of Staff
and close confidant Kamran Karadaghi told PolOff on
May 23 that all of Iran's activities in Iraq and the
broader Middle East were just aimed at jumpstarting
bilateral relations with the U.S. He urged Washington
to engage Tehran as a means of having some way of
controlling its actions in Iraq. Although he
regretted Iranian President Ahmedinejad's statements
dismissing the value of engagement with the West, he
urged the U.S. to take the initiative with Iran.
Karadaghi was unsure of the exact composition of the
expected Iranian delegation to Baghdad to congratulate
the new government; however he noted that senior
Iranian negotiator Muhammad Ja'afari was a quiet
powerbroker for the Iranians. End Summary.
--------------
Tehran Seeking Validation
--------------
2. (S) President Talabani's Chief of Staff and close
confidant Kamran Karadaghi told PolOff on May 23 that
all of Iran's activities in Iraq and the broader
Middle East was just aimed at jumpstarting bilateral
relations with the U.S. He adamantly insisted that
most, if not all, Iranian provocations in Iraq would
cease once Tehran had established a relationship with
Washington. While he readily admitted that Iran's
behavior to date had not inspired confidence,
Karadaghi also chided the U.S. for failing to take the
initiative to engage Iran. "Iran knows Iraq and
Iraqis like the fingers of its own hand...everything
it does is for a reason, and that reason is to get the
Americans to speak to them," opined Karadaghi. He
stated that Iran had longstanding political, cultural
and historical ties to Iraq and with the Kurds. Each
time President Talabani went to Iran he was received
at the highest levels, including Supreme Leader
Khamenei and Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani.
-------------- ---
Iranians Are Coming...Including Some Old Friends
-------------- ---
3. (S) Although Karadaghi was unsure of the exact
composition of the Iranian delegation that would be
coming to Baghdad this week, he estimated that Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian
Ambassador to Iraq Hasan Khazemi-Qomi, senior Iranian
negotiator Muhammad Ja'afari and Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) General Qassim
Soleimani would probably be included. Both Ja'afari
and Khazemi-Qomi, Karadaghi noted, had worked in the
Kurdish bureau in the IRGC-QF and had even fought
alongside the Kurds against Saddam during the Iran-
Iraq War. He believed that the one to really keep an
eye on, though, was Muhammad Ja'afari.
--------------
Iran Still A Mystery
--------------
4. (S) PolOff noted that it was difficult to tell
Tehran's ultimate intentions. Karadaghi agreed,
saying that the different voices within Tehran both
for and against engagement with the West confused
matters. Although Iranian President Ahmedinejad's
comments dismissing the value of bilateral discussions
with the U.S. is troubling, Karadaghi said he believed
that it was merely an attempt to maintain face with
the Iranian public.
--------------
Comment
--------------
5. (S) Karadaghi is not only a longtime confidant of
President Talabani and his close adviser, but he has
also spent many years as a journalist and political
analyst of Iraqi affairs, starting from his tenure as
a journalist at Al-Hayat newspaper. While nominally
an independent and close to the leaders of both the
KDP and the PUK, he is more closely aligned with
Talabani. He is a believer in the new Iraqi state
while also sympathetic to the Kurdish movements.
BAGHDAD 00001754 002 OF 002
Karadaghi has often pressed the U.S. to take a wider
view of the Middle East's political situation, and has
been pushing for engagement with Tehran as a means of
controlling its actions in Iraq.
KHALILZAD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2026
TAGS: PGOV IR IZ
SUBJECT: SENIOR KURDISH AIDE: IRAN WANTS A DIALOGUE WITH
THE U.S.
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
1. (S) Summary: President Talabani's Chief of Staff
and close confidant Kamran Karadaghi told PolOff on
May 23 that all of Iran's activities in Iraq and the
broader Middle East were just aimed at jumpstarting
bilateral relations with the U.S. He urged Washington
to engage Tehran as a means of having some way of
controlling its actions in Iraq. Although he
regretted Iranian President Ahmedinejad's statements
dismissing the value of engagement with the West, he
urged the U.S. to take the initiative with Iran.
Karadaghi was unsure of the exact composition of the
expected Iranian delegation to Baghdad to congratulate
the new government; however he noted that senior
Iranian negotiator Muhammad Ja'afari was a quiet
powerbroker for the Iranians. End Summary.
--------------
Tehran Seeking Validation
--------------
2. (S) President Talabani's Chief of Staff and close
confidant Kamran Karadaghi told PolOff on May 23 that
all of Iran's activities in Iraq and the broader
Middle East was just aimed at jumpstarting bilateral
relations with the U.S. He adamantly insisted that
most, if not all, Iranian provocations in Iraq would
cease once Tehran had established a relationship with
Washington. While he readily admitted that Iran's
behavior to date had not inspired confidence,
Karadaghi also chided the U.S. for failing to take the
initiative to engage Iran. "Iran knows Iraq and
Iraqis like the fingers of its own hand...everything
it does is for a reason, and that reason is to get the
Americans to speak to them," opined Karadaghi. He
stated that Iran had longstanding political, cultural
and historical ties to Iraq and with the Kurds. Each
time President Talabani went to Iran he was received
at the highest levels, including Supreme Leader
Khamenei and Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani.
-------------- ---
Iranians Are Coming...Including Some Old Friends
-------------- ---
3. (S) Although Karadaghi was unsure of the exact
composition of the Iranian delegation that would be
coming to Baghdad this week, he estimated that Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian
Ambassador to Iraq Hasan Khazemi-Qomi, senior Iranian
negotiator Muhammad Ja'afari and Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) General Qassim
Soleimani would probably be included. Both Ja'afari
and Khazemi-Qomi, Karadaghi noted, had worked in the
Kurdish bureau in the IRGC-QF and had even fought
alongside the Kurds against Saddam during the Iran-
Iraq War. He believed that the one to really keep an
eye on, though, was Muhammad Ja'afari.
--------------
Iran Still A Mystery
--------------
4. (S) PolOff noted that it was difficult to tell
Tehran's ultimate intentions. Karadaghi agreed,
saying that the different voices within Tehran both
for and against engagement with the West confused
matters. Although Iranian President Ahmedinejad's
comments dismissing the value of bilateral discussions
with the U.S. is troubling, Karadaghi said he believed
that it was merely an attempt to maintain face with
the Iranian public.
--------------
Comment
--------------
5. (S) Karadaghi is not only a longtime confidant of
President Talabani and his close adviser, but he has
also spent many years as a journalist and political
analyst of Iraqi affairs, starting from his tenure as
a journalist at Al-Hayat newspaper. While nominally
an independent and close to the leaders of both the
KDP and the PUK, he is more closely aligned with
Talabani. He is a believer in the new Iraqi state
while also sympathetic to the Kurdish movements.
BAGHDAD 00001754 002 OF 002
Karadaghi has often pressed the U.S. to take a wider
view of the Middle East's political situation, and has
been pushing for engagement with Tehran as a means of
controlling its actions in Iraq.
KHALILZAD