Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JEDDAH381
2006-05-23 01:37:00
SECRET
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:
JEDDAH BUSINESSMAN: IRAN ESTABLISHING GRASSROOTS
how-toVZCZCXRO3495 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS DE RUEHJI #0381/01 1430137 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 230137Z MAY 06 FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9184 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1392 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1470 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6516 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000381
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PROP PTER SA SCUL
SUBJECT: JEDDAH BUSINESSMAN: IRAN ESTABLISHING GRASSROOTS
NETWORK IN KSA TO COUNTER US ATTACK
Classified By: Tatiana C. Gfoeller reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000381
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PROP PTER SA SCUL
SUBJECT: JEDDAH BUSINESSMAN: IRAN ESTABLISHING GRASSROOTS
NETWORK IN KSA TO COUNTER US ATTACK
Classified By: Tatiana C. Gfoeller reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (S) SUMMARY: During a recent meeting with ConGenoff, a
Jeddah businessman and former International Visitors Program
participant claimed that he had been approached by
representatives of the Iranian government to participate in a
new strategic media initiative to foment anti-US sentiment in
the GCC, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Al Sairi stated that
the well-coordinated campaign was part of a larger drive to
develop a pro-Iranian "fifth column" within the Kingdom, both
to extend Iran's influence in the region and to create a
network of supporters that could be called upon to serve as
"mujahedeen" in the event of a US attack on Iran. He cited
recent moves by the Iranian government to downplay the
long-standing Sunni-Shi'a rivalry as the opening shot of this
public campaign. END SUMMARY
--------------
CREATING A FIFTH COLUMN OF IRANIAN SUPPORT
--------------
2. (S) Jeddah businessman Meshari Al Sairi (please strictly
protect) called ConGenoff to his office on May 20 to disclose
that he had been approached by representatives of the Iranian
government to assist in a new strategic media initiative to
foment anti-US sentiment in the GCC, with specific emphasis
on Saudi Arabia. A former journalist and participant in a
2002 USG-sponsored International Visitors Program to the US,
Al Sairi said that he subsequently left journalism out of
frustration at the self-censorship and lack of creativity in
the Saudi news media. He also claimed that he had been
arrested in 2004 on the orders of Minister of the Interior
Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud after criticizing the
Ministry for not providing adequate accommodations and food
for its employees in the Hejaz (the Western part of Saudi
Arabia, of which Jeddah is the "capital.") Al Sairi stated,
however, that his interest in establishing his own economic
newspaper is well-known and presumably accounts for the
alleged approach by Iranian envoys.
3. (S) According to Al Sairi, Iran's campaign is aimed at
supplanting US influence in the region with its own. An
overt and well-coordinated public diplomacy program would
include the placement of anti-US articles in the regional
Arabic-language press; the production of documentary films
detailing US "atrocities" in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Palestine; and SMS broadcasts to mobile phones describing the
US "crusade" against Islam. Al Sairi said the Iranians who
approached him had asked him to produce some of these
materials.
4. (S) In addition to generating anti-US sentiment in the
region, Al Sairi said these steps are designed to create a
network of supporters that Iran could draw on to serve as
"mujahedeen" in the country's defense following a US
invasion. He drew a comparison with the groups of Arab men
who flocked to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in the
1980s. When ConGenoff reminded Al Sairi that the Afghan
"mujahedeen" had received US and SAG assistance that proved
essential to their struggle against the Soviets (assistance
from the latter which would presumably not be available in
the event of an armed conflict between the US and Iran),he
remarked that the aim of Iran's outreach campaign in the
Kingdom would be to create a ground swell of public support
for fellow Muslims that the SAG would be unable restrain.
5. (S) Al Sairi also noted that the Iranian government had
obtained access to a list of dual US-Saudi nationals in the
Kingdom and would undertake efforts to find those who felt
they had not been treated as full citizens by the USG.
Though vague, the implication was that these people would be
vulnerable to Iranian coercion and would conceivably be used
as a "fifth column," even in the US.
--------------
DOWNPLAYING SECTARIAN DIFFERENCES
--------------
6. (S) Al Sairi said that a critical element in the success
of such a campaign would be the Iranian government's ability
to downplay the long-standing Sunni-Shi'a rivalry. He
JEDDAH 00000381 002 OF 002
claimed that the Iranian envoys he met were aware of this and
planned to de-emphasize any sectarian disputes as part of the
initiative. Al Sairi indicated that Iran had instructed
several Shi'a Imams in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to set aside
their differences with Sunnis in the interests of fighting
their "common enemy," namely the US. He also alleged that
Iran's encouragement for Moqtada Al Sadr to moderate his
position vis-a-vis Iraqi Sunnis was an example of this
posture.
7. (S) COMMENT: Given that Al Sairi would not disclose any
details on the Iranians who had approached him, it is
difficult to assess the credibility of his claims and equally
unclear if he is trying to convey a message on behalf of a
third-party or is, as he said, trying to repay a debt to the
USG for having sent him to the US in 2002. He does, however,
deny any interest in working for either "side" in the US-Iran
conflict, and it is unclear what he would have to gain from
such a discussion with a low-ranking Consulate staff member.
END COMMENT
--------------
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
--------------
8. (C) Born in 1977, Meshari Al Sairi received a bachelor's
degree in journalism from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah
in 1999. He subsequently worked for the Jeddah-based daily
"Okaz" and, later, "Al Watan" and "Al Iqtisadia." He visited
the US in 2002 for a USG-sponsored International Visitor's
Program to examine American media coverage of the Middle East
and explore the interaction between press and politics in the
US, including a week studying state and local political
processes in Arkansas. Hailing from an upper-middle class
family, Al Sairi left journalism in 2003 to become the
chairman of Roushn Al Arabia Holding Company, with ownership
over a construction firm, a chain of beauty salons, a stock
market investment group, and a variety of real estate
holdings.
Gfoeller
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PROP PTER SA SCUL
SUBJECT: JEDDAH BUSINESSMAN: IRAN ESTABLISHING GRASSROOTS
NETWORK IN KSA TO COUNTER US ATTACK
Classified By: Tatiana C. Gfoeller reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (S) SUMMARY: During a recent meeting with ConGenoff, a
Jeddah businessman and former International Visitors Program
participant claimed that he had been approached by
representatives of the Iranian government to participate in a
new strategic media initiative to foment anti-US sentiment in
the GCC, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Al Sairi stated that
the well-coordinated campaign was part of a larger drive to
develop a pro-Iranian "fifth column" within the Kingdom, both
to extend Iran's influence in the region and to create a
network of supporters that could be called upon to serve as
"mujahedeen" in the event of a US attack on Iran. He cited
recent moves by the Iranian government to downplay the
long-standing Sunni-Shi'a rivalry as the opening shot of this
public campaign. END SUMMARY
--------------
CREATING A FIFTH COLUMN OF IRANIAN SUPPORT
--------------
2. (S) Jeddah businessman Meshari Al Sairi (please strictly
protect) called ConGenoff to his office on May 20 to disclose
that he had been approached by representatives of the Iranian
government to assist in a new strategic media initiative to
foment anti-US sentiment in the GCC, with specific emphasis
on Saudi Arabia. A former journalist and participant in a
2002 USG-sponsored International Visitors Program to the US,
Al Sairi said that he subsequently left journalism out of
frustration at the self-censorship and lack of creativity in
the Saudi news media. He also claimed that he had been
arrested in 2004 on the orders of Minister of the Interior
Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud after criticizing the
Ministry for not providing adequate accommodations and food
for its employees in the Hejaz (the Western part of Saudi
Arabia, of which Jeddah is the "capital.") Al Sairi stated,
however, that his interest in establishing his own economic
newspaper is well-known and presumably accounts for the
alleged approach by Iranian envoys.
3. (S) According to Al Sairi, Iran's campaign is aimed at
supplanting US influence in the region with its own. An
overt and well-coordinated public diplomacy program would
include the placement of anti-US articles in the regional
Arabic-language press; the production of documentary films
detailing US "atrocities" in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Palestine; and SMS broadcasts to mobile phones describing the
US "crusade" against Islam. Al Sairi said the Iranians who
approached him had asked him to produce some of these
materials.
4. (S) In addition to generating anti-US sentiment in the
region, Al Sairi said these steps are designed to create a
network of supporters that Iran could draw on to serve as
"mujahedeen" in the country's defense following a US
invasion. He drew a comparison with the groups of Arab men
who flocked to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in the
1980s. When ConGenoff reminded Al Sairi that the Afghan
"mujahedeen" had received US and SAG assistance that proved
essential to their struggle against the Soviets (assistance
from the latter which would presumably not be available in
the event of an armed conflict between the US and Iran),he
remarked that the aim of Iran's outreach campaign in the
Kingdom would be to create a ground swell of public support
for fellow Muslims that the SAG would be unable restrain.
5. (S) Al Sairi also noted that the Iranian government had
obtained access to a list of dual US-Saudi nationals in the
Kingdom and would undertake efforts to find those who felt
they had not been treated as full citizens by the USG.
Though vague, the implication was that these people would be
vulnerable to Iranian coercion and would conceivably be used
as a "fifth column," even in the US.
--------------
DOWNPLAYING SECTARIAN DIFFERENCES
--------------
6. (S) Al Sairi said that a critical element in the success
of such a campaign would be the Iranian government's ability
to downplay the long-standing Sunni-Shi'a rivalry. He
JEDDAH 00000381 002 OF 002
claimed that the Iranian envoys he met were aware of this and
planned to de-emphasize any sectarian disputes as part of the
initiative. Al Sairi indicated that Iran had instructed
several Shi'a Imams in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to set aside
their differences with Sunnis in the interests of fighting
their "common enemy," namely the US. He also alleged that
Iran's encouragement for Moqtada Al Sadr to moderate his
position vis-a-vis Iraqi Sunnis was an example of this
posture.
7. (S) COMMENT: Given that Al Sairi would not disclose any
details on the Iranians who had approached him, it is
difficult to assess the credibility of his claims and equally
unclear if he is trying to convey a message on behalf of a
third-party or is, as he said, trying to repay a debt to the
USG for having sent him to the US in 2002. He does, however,
deny any interest in working for either "side" in the US-Iran
conflict, and it is unclear what he would have to gain from
such a discussion with a low-ranking Consulate staff member.
END COMMENT
--------------
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
--------------
8. (C) Born in 1977, Meshari Al Sairi received a bachelor's
degree in journalism from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah
in 1999. He subsequently worked for the Jeddah-based daily
"Okaz" and, later, "Al Watan" and "Al Iqtisadia." He visited
the US in 2002 for a USG-sponsored International Visitor's
Program to examine American media coverage of the Middle East
and explore the interaction between press and politics in the
US, including a week studying state and local political
processes in Arkansas. Hailing from an upper-middle class
family, Al Sairi left journalism in 2003 to become the
chairman of Roushn Al Arabia Holding Company, with ownership
over a construction firm, a chain of beauty salons, a stock
market investment group, and a variety of real estate
holdings.
Gfoeller