PM JAFARI APPROVES AMBASSADORIAL ASSIGNMENTS TO

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 000759 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR IZ SUBJECT: PM JAFARI APPROVES AMBASSADORIAL ASSIGNMENTS TO THE US, UNITED NATIONS AND JORDAN Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1.(C) On March 8, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Hamid al-Bayati confirmed to PolOff that Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari approved Iraq's ambassadorial assignments to the US, United Nations and Jordan. As Iraq's Ambassador to the United Nations, al-Bayati told PolOff that he is quite relieved the five month delay is over. Al-Bayati will leave for New York as soon as Ambassador Samir Sumadaie transfers to Washington, DC and presents his credentials. Deputy Foreign Minister of Administration Saad al-Hayani has also been approved to be Iraq's new Ambassador to Jordan. ¶2. (S) Biographic Information: Hamid al-Bayati: Bayati is a prominent member of the Shia Islamist SCIRI party and has been deputy minister for two years. He speaks good English. He has published books on terrorism. He has been very open to meetings with American Embassy personnel; he is the type of SCIRI contact that tries to show SCIRI is not dependent on its Iranian benefactors. Zebari did not always confide in Bayati, but when the minister wanted to deliver a stern message to us, he would bring in Bayati to witness (and doubtless report to SCIRI). Hayani: the MFA equivalent of the Assistant Secretary for Administration, Hayani is a career MFA bureaucrat; within the MFA he is thought to know where the various pots of money are located. He is a Sunni Arab who has found many excuses for travel to neighboring Arab states. He is generally friendly towards the Embassy, but we did not find him well informed about what Minister Zebari was doing. KHALILZAD