SENIOR KURDISH AIDE: IRAN WANTS A DIALOGUE WITH

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