GCC ADVISOR: IRAN TOP ISSUE ON AGENDA OF THE MAY 6

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001568

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/IR AND NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR
ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2016
TAGS: PREL IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
SUBJECT: GCC ADVISOR: IRAN TOP ISSUE ON AGENDA OF THE MAY 6
GCC SUMMIT IN RIYADH

REF: A. KUWAIT 1519


B. KUWAIT 1451

C. KUWAIT 1346

D. KUWAIT 1319

Classified By: Political Counselor Natalie E. Brown for reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) Dr. Yacoub Al-Hayati, one of Kuwait's five members on
the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) 30-member Advisory
Committee, told Poloff May 2 that Iran's nuclear program
would dominate the agenda of the "six-hour" GCC Consultative
Summit scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 6.
Al-Hayati said GCC states "did not trust the Iranians" and
were privately united in their opposition to Iran's nuclear
program, but were nonetheless hesitant to publicly confront
Iran partly because they did not want to be labeled
pro-Israel. Gulf countries wanted "to completely exhaust
diplomatic options" to remove any pretext Iran could use to
justify its nuclear program, Al-Hayati explained. He
criticized GCC states, however, for failing to exert unified
diplomatic pressure on Iran and continuing to deal with Iran
individually. According to Al-Hayati, no communique will be
issued after the May 6 summit.


2. (C) Al-Hayati reported that the "American interests" Iran
threatened to attack if the U.S. attacks its nuclear
facilities were interpreted in Kuwait as 1) the American
people, and 2) U.S. economic and military interests, like oil
installations and U.S. military facilities in the Gulf. He
believed Gulf states would be the "victims" of any
confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, and said
Iranian-backed terrorist attacks in Kuwait would "definitely"
be a threat if such a confrontation took place. Noting that
"Iranian positions change on a regular basis," Al-Hayati
predicted Iran would back down "within a year" in the face of
international pressure over its nuclear program.


3. (SBU) Former GCC Secretary General Abdullah Bishara
similarly criticized GCC hesitancy to openly condemn Iran's
nuclear program in a May 1 article in the Arabic daily
Al-Watan. Bishara, who is also one of Kuwait's GCC Advisory
Council members, claimed Gulf countries have not clearly
communicated their concerns in private meetings with Iranian
officials, and warned that Iran would exploit GCC hesitancy
to "promote its own ideas and programs." Bishara agreed that
Iran would dominate the agenda of the May 6 GCC Consultative
Summit.

"One Crown for One Hundred Turbans"
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4. (C) Al-Hayati said he was invited by Prime Minister
Shaykh Nasser Mohammed Al-Sabah to a meeting with former
Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani during Rafsanjani's
recent trip to Kuwait (reftels). Characterizing Rafsanjani
as a "fox," Al-Hayati asserted that the former Iranian
President, whom he claimed to know personally, had maintained
"interests" with Saddam Hussein through the two leaders' sons
during the Iran-Iraq War. Al-Hayati concluded that the
Iranians had traded "one crown (the Shah) for one hundred
turbans."

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
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LEBARON