OMAN URGES MORE DIALOGUE, NOT SANCTIONS, ON IRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 001316 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016 TAGS: PREL KNNP IR MU SUBJECT: OMAN URGES MORE DIALOGUE, NOT SANCTIONS, ON IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM REF: A. STATE 145088 ¶B. MUSCAT 1174 ¶C. MUSCAT 1015 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 ((b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi told the Ambassador September 4 that more dialogue, not sanctions, was needed to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister had assured Alawi earlier the same day that Tehran was willing to negotiate over its nuclear activities and provide "guarantees" on the peaceful nature of its program, but would not agree to preconditions to talks, including the suspension of its "right" to enrich uranium. Alawi urged the U.S. not to push for sanctions against Iran until all efforts at negotiations had been exhausted. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In a September 4 meeting with Minister Alawi to discuss issues related to the upcoming Arab League Ministerial and Non-Aligned Movement Summit (septels),the Ambassador described Iran's recent rejection of UNSC Resolution 1696 (ref A),its disappointing response to the historic P5 1 proposal, and the urgent need for Tehran to understand that its defiance of the international community will have consequences. Alawi replied that he had met just hours earlier with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Muhammad Reza Baqeri, who was touring GCC states to explain Iran's position on its nuclear program. ¶3. (C) According to Alawi, the Iranian Deputy FM had emphasized that Tehran was very willing to continue discussions with the West and the IAEA on its nuclear program, but without "preconditions," including the suspension of its uranium enrichment program. Baqeri reportedly said that Iran was prepared to provide all necessary guarantees to ensure the international community that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but that it would not concede its "right" under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to enrich uranium. Alawi added that Baqeri was adamant that threats or sanctions against Iran would be completely ineffective in resolving the standoff over the nuclear issue. ¶4. (C) Alawi stressed to the Ambassador that Oman was strongly against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. He was firm, however, in stating that a move towards sanctions against Tehran at this time would be counterproductive and could precipitate an unnecessary "crisis." Alawi continued that in his view, there were currently two options regarding Iran: confrontation or a negotiated agreement. Confrontation would not be in anyone's interest, particularly Oman, while continued dialogue could result in an agreement that would include the strict monitoring of Iran's nuclear program and close scrutiny of the use and disposal of materials that could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. When the Ambassador pointed out that Iran had refused to grant complete and unfettered access to all of its nuclear-related facilities, Alawi replied that this issue could still be resolved through negotiations and that it was too soon to "give up" on reaching an agreement. ¶5. (C) Responding to Alawi's statements, the Ambassador pushed back that years of Western negotiations with Iran had led nowhere, and that Tehran had previously engaged in deception to conceal its nuclear activities. Alawi countered that that given the enormous implications for regional and world security, there was "no rush" to take a confrontational approach. An early push for sanctions, he stated, could drive Tehran to take a more aggressive posture and perhaps embolden Iranian hard-liners to call for development of nuclear weapons as the only "deterrent" to alleged U.S. designs to topple the Iranian regime. Sanctions might be warranted at some point in the future, Alawi added, but only after the international community had exhausted all efforts to negotiate an agreement to guarantee the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program. GRAPPO