SUDAN/IRAN: POINTS ON NUCLEAR ISSUE PASSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 001300 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/IR E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2016 TAGS: PREL AORC IAEA KNNP UNSC IR SU SUBJECT: SUDAN/IRAN: POINTS ON NUCLEAR ISSUE PASSED REF: A. STATE 87682 ¶B. STATE 89325 Classified By: Charge Andrew Steinfeld for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Charge delivered reftel points to MFA America's desk head, Ambassador Dirdiri, on June 5. Charge stressed the importance of the evolution of U.S. policy on the Iran nuclear issue, as well as our unhappiness with the NAM statement. ¶2. (C) Charge noted the significance of the P5 plus 1 FM agreement in Vienna, in which China and Russia joined the others to present a positive package to Iran on this issue. Charge said that diplomacy now had a real chance of succeeding, but that Tehran needed to make the right decision. Recalling President Bashir's recent trip to Tehran, Charge said Sudan was in a good position to push Tehran to a yes. We hoped that Sudan would weigh in both publicly and privately on this important issue. ¶3. (C) Dirdiri responded that he would pass our message to FM Akol and President Bashir immediately. He stressed that Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear energy, and that this needed to be stressed. Charge responded that we and the international community agreed Iran had this right; rather, the problem was Iran's two-decades record of serious safeguards failures and breaches of its NPT obligations. STEINFELD