KUWAIT DEMARCHE DELIVERED: REPORTING IRAN TO THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000306

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016
TAGS: PREL IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
SUBJECT: KUWAIT DEMARCHE DELIVERED: REPORTING IRAN TO THE
UNSC

REF: A. STATE 6236

B. 05 ABUDHABI 5129

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. In a January 28 meeting, the Ambassador
delivered reftel demarche to Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah. Al-Jarallah reacted
by asking what more the GCC could do, and expressed
willingess to pursue the matter further. The Ambassador
queried prominent Kuwaiti academics, businessmen, and
government officials about the same subject at a lunch
meeting the same day. They said that the GCC should take a
stronger and more unified stand against Iran's nuclear
program. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador delivered reftel demarche during a
January 28 meeting with Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah. The Ambassador stressed
the importance of sending a clear political message to the
Iranian government (GOI) that the international community
opposed its nuclear program by referring Iran to the UN
Security Council (UNSC). He also emphasized the important
role GCC countries could play in rallying Arab support for
any UNSC action against Iran and in downplaying some Arab
governments' opposition to potential sanctions. Al-Jarallah
said Kuwait and other GCC countries view Iran as "a serious
threat." Noting that "we are ready to cooperate and do
anything we can do," Al-Jarallah asked for suggestions on how
the GCC could cooperate in opposing Iran's nuclear program.
While acknowledging the recent GCC joint communique as a
positive step, the Ambassador suggested that the GCC could
issue a statement supporting referral of Iran to the UNSC, a
move he argued would put additional pressure on the GOI and
send a clear message that Iranian actions were not
acceptable. Al-Jarallah agreed that "we should think about
this," and added that this message could also be conveyed
bilaterally.


3. (C) Al-Jarallah said British officials had conveyed
similar concerns during a recent meeting with GCC Ambassadors
to the United Kingdom. According to Al-Jarallah, British
officials said Iran's nuclear program posed a "serious
threat" to Gulf countries and urged the GCC to put more
pressure on the Iranian government. Al-Jarallah questioned
China and Russia's commitment to referring Iran to the UNSC,
noting, in particular, the strong shared interests between
China and Iran. He speculated that if the Russian initiative
fails, Russia might support a proposal to refer Iran to the
UNSC. Al-Jarallah also claimed that India "could be a
problem" within the IAEA. Al-Jarallah commented that it
would "take time" to build Russian and Chinese support for
any UNSC action.


4. (C) Al-Jarallah asked if imposing sanction was "the stage
before military action." The Ambassador responded that,
while the military option was not off the table, "we are
still several steps away from considering military action"
and emphasized it is the USG's desire to see a diplomatic,
multilateral solution to the problem.


Other Kuwaiti Views
--------------


5. (C) Prominent Kuwaiti academics, business leaders, and
government officials, in a January 28 luncheon with the
Ambassador, expressed considerable trepidation about Iran's
nuclear program. Former GCC SYG Ambassador Abdullah Bishara
described a recent seminar he brokered at which Iranian
thinkers and officials exchanged candid views with Kuwaiti
counterparts. The Iranian officials enumerated a number of
reasons why they felt they needed a nuclear program: all the
big world powers have them; Iran has more neighbors than any
other country besides Russia, and they are all hostile; why
should Pakistan, a recent creation of the British, have
nuclear weapons when Iran has thousands of years of history;
Iran and the U.S. are in a "boxing match" and Iran cannot
afford to be weak. Bishara said they noted that they have the
technology, the resources, and national pride to carry out
the program and to withstand sanctions. He added that the
Iranians also said they had "unlimited power of mischief,"
meaning they could create problems for the U.S. in Iraq,
Syria, and other places in the region. Bishara concluded by
saying that the Iranians were paranoid, and they were not
susceptible to logic or sanctions.


6. (C) With regard to what the GCC should do about this
problem, Bishara said the entire GCC had to come together as
a group to insist on a nuclear-free zone in the Gulf. He

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went on to say that GCC countries must stop their word play
and come out unequivocally with the international community
against Iran's nuclear program. Ultimately, the GCC must
also make clear to Iran that it will support referral of its
nuclear program to the Security Council. When asked whether
such a unified approach by the GCC would deter Iran from
pursuing its present course, Bishara and the other Kuwaitis
said it was unlikely to work. When other participants in the
conversation raised the environmental threat posed by Iran's
nuclear program, Bishara was quick to dismiss this concern.
The problem with a nuclear Iran is not pollution, he said.
It's about changing the balance of power in the region.
That's the real danger.


7. (C) Dr. Nada Al-Mutawa, professor of political science at
Kuwait University, said that Oman and Saudi Arabia are not as
worried about Iran as the other GCC states and will scuttle
attempts to come to a strong unified stance against Iran.
Others agreed with this view. For instance, Dr. Moudhi
Al-Homoud, Rector of the Arab Open University, said Kuwaiti
pronouncements had to link concerns about Iran to Israel's
nuclear program as well in order to make its statements
credible to the Kuwaiti public. Yousef Al-Ebraheem, advisor
to the Prime Minister, played down this point by noting that
Israel's program was different because it already exists,
whereas Iran's is still in the development phase and could be
stopped.


8. (C) Comment: While Undersecretary Jarallah thought the GCC
statement at its Abu Dhabi Summit was a strong one, our lunch
table interlocutors thought it was clearly not enough. For
reference, the GCC statement called for the Middle East to be
a nuclear-weapons-free zone, but refrained from specifically
mentioning its concern about Iran's nuclear program (ref B).

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