GCC SUMMIT: BAHRAIN FOCUSES ON IRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000004

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2015
TAGS: PREL ETRD PGOV KNNP BA IR OFFICIALS REGION
SUBJECT: GCC SUMMIT: BAHRAIN FOCUSES ON IRAN

C O R R E C T E D COPY - PARA. 1 - "INTERNAL" TO "EXTERNAL"

REF: CAIRO 9470

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid told
the Ambassador that GCC FM Rashid Abdullah's post-GCC Summit
comments about Iran's nuclear program reflected GCC concerns
more than the watered-down language in the Summit's final
statement. GCC members were not happy with Amre Moussa's
June letter criticizing GCC focus on a Gulf nuclear free
zone, but also -- especially Saudi Arabia -- did not want to
raise tensions with Iran too much at this time. Still,
Shaikh Khalid added, Iran as usual was not happy with the GCC
Summit statement. He also went on at length about Bahrain's
concerns regarding Iran. On other GCC Summit issues, he
indicated that the leaders took a step back on the joint
Peninsula Shield force, agreeing that countries would not
deploy jointly except for exercises or in a crisis. On
trade, they continued to grapple on how to deal with
bilateral FTAs with countries other than the U.S., and
postponed until 2007 the transition period to unify external
GCC tariffs. End summary.


2. (C) In a December 28 meeting with the Ambassador,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed
Al-Khalifa discussed the December 18-19 GCC Summit, focusing
much of his commentary on Iran. He said that, while the GCC
members "did not want to create a ruckus about the nuclear
issue," UAE Foreign Minister Rashid Abdullah's comments in a
post-Summit press conference, which hit more strongly on the
nuclear issue than the Summit statement, reflected the
sentiment during the Summit discussion. "We are worried," he
stated. "We don't want to see nuclear weapons in the
region."


3. (C) Asked about Arab League Secretary General Amre
Moussa's June letter to the GCC questioning the GCC's support
for a nuclear free zone in the Gulf (aimed at Iran, as
opposed to the broader Middle East concern about Israel)
(reftel),Shaikh Khalid said that the GCC countries were not
happy with the letter, and did not want to issue a Summit
statement that did not in some way touch on their concerns
about Iran's nuclear program. In the end, they developed
compromise language for the final statement which did not
directly mention Iran but called for the "international
community to make the Middle East, including the Gulf region,
a zone free of weapons of mass destruction." The GCC leaders
also reaffirmed their opposition to Iran's occupation of the
three UAE islands. "As happens after every GCC Summit,"
Shaikh Khalid stated, "the Iranians were not very happy with
us."


4. (C) On the internal dynamics at the Summit on the Iran
issue, Shaikh Khalid said that Bahrain and the UAE were
"really worried," while Oman and Kuwait were ambivalent
about taking a strong position against Iran, and Qatar was on
the fence. Saudi Arabia, while sharing Bahrain's strong
feelings about Iran, wanted to play down the Iran problem.
Saudi Arabia had its focus on internal issues, and counseled
that it was not wise to raise the level of tension at this
time.


5. (C) Regarding Bahrain's attitudes towards Iran, Shaikh
Khalid expressed his country's increasing concern about
Iran's activities and provocative stances. Iran is playing a
"dirty role" in Iraq and the GOB is concerned that this role
is being extended to Bahrain. The King has been vocal in
private that "Bahrain does not want Iran to start up again"
and hurt Bahrain's progress. "Iran always starts with
Bahrain," the FM said, referring to aggressive Iranian
stances in the past. "Bahrain is concerned about every plane
that lands from Iran. We don't know what they have up their
sleeves." In the context of recent statements by Iranian
President Ahmedinajad, Shaikh Khalid said that during his
meeting with the King in early December at the Organization
of Islamic Conference meeting in Mecca, Ahmedinajad made the
unsolicited offer that Iran could help "get rid of"
foreigners in the Gulf. Shaikh Khalid underscored that this
type of aggressive rhetoric concerned Bahrain greatly.


6. (C) Returning to GCC summit issues, Shaikh Khalid
indicated that GCC leaders took a step back on the joint
Peninsula Shield force, saying that they agreed that each
member would keep its forces in its own country (rather than
deploy together),and that they would only come together for
military exercises or if there was a crisis. On trade
issues, he said they were still trying to grapple with
bilateral FTAs signed with countries other than the U.S.
While they had previously agreed that FTAs with the U.S.
would be an exception, Qatar's FTA with Singapore was proving
to be a challenge, and the UAE had initiated free trade talks
with Australia and New Zealand. Finally, the GCC leaders
agreed to postpone until 2007 the transition period to unify
external GCC customs duties to five percent.

MONROE