IRANIAN DFM JALILI MEETS WITH NORWEGIAN FOREIGN

S E C R E T OSLO 001343

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2016
TAGS: IAEA IR NO PREL
SUBJECT: IRANIAN DFM JALILI MEETS WITH NORWEGIAN FOREIGN
MINISTER


Classified By: DCM Kevin M. Johnson, reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Saeed
Jalili, traveled to Norway on Friday 27 October, to take part
in a round table sponsored by the Norwegian think tank NUPI.
Jalili had a two-hour meeting with State Secretary Raymond
Johansen, and an additional meeting with Foreign Minister
Stoere. The Norwegians stressed that the Iranians should do
everything in their power to 'build confidence' in the
international community that they are not pursuing nuclear
weapons, and that the Iranians should also help to calm
sectarian violence in Iraq. Jalili said that they've already
done everything in their power to build confidence to no
avail, and that on the Shiite/Sunni conflict, they can only
urge the Shiite community not to respond to attacks against
them, but that the violence is 'ethnic, not religious' in
nature. The Norwegians did not bring up Iran's threats to
Israel. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Norwegian think tank NUPI invited Jalili and
several other academics associated with the Iranian think
tank called the Institute for Political and International
Studies (IPIS) to participate in a round table discussion on
Iran's nuclear program. As they could not get a Schengen
visa, the academic participation from the Iranian side had to
drop out (Jalili was able to transit through Sweden with his
diplomatic passport). Jalili did host a seminar, but
shortened his program and spent much of his visit in
discussion with State Secretary Raymond Johansen and a
shorter follow-on 'courtesy call' with FM Stoere. Iranian
Desk Officer Vigdis Garborg, who accompanied Jalili through
the visits, shared her readout of the meeting.


3. (S) Johansen started by saying to Jalili that 'no one
disputes the right of Iran to use nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes', but that Iran has to take measures to build
confidence. Jalili responded that they've suspended their
uranium enrichment program for two years with no apparent
result, and asked 'how much longer must they wait'? Johansen
said that there are no time frames. Jalili said that no
other country has undergone as many inspections as they have
and that the limited restrictions are for 'security concerns'
and that no other country would open their military bases for
inspection. Johansen then noted that the GON strongly
supports the EU three and that the Iranians should use their
creativity to build confidence if current measures aren't
doing the trick.


4. (S) Johansen then asked about the Iranian role in the
region's conflicts. Jalili claims that the sectarian
violence in Iraq is not due to Shiite/Sunni conflicts, but
rather to the ethnic make-up of Iraq. He also blamed the
U.S. for the violence in the area. After Johansen urged
Jalili to decrease tension in the area, Jalili stated that
the Iranian government would ask that Shiites in Iraq 'not to
fight back' in the future if they are attacked by Sunnis.
Jalili then met with FM Stoere, where a shorter conversation
occurred covering the same points. Neither Johansen nor
Stoere brought up Iran's threats towards Israel. Garborg
said that it was on their agenda, but that there were other
items ahead of the threats against Israel on the list (such
as human rights concerns and the building of a new DCM's
residence in Tehran) that took up the remainder of the
meeting.


5. (C) COMMENT: Garborg has spent a lot of time in Iran, and
appears to be sympathetic to the Iranian position on many
matters. However, she is not alone in her openness to
dialogue with the Iranians. Norwegian policy is to keep the
door open, and they were willing to listen to the Iranian
points in the hopes of getting an equally polite hearing from
Jalili. The director of the sponsoring organization in
Norway, Sverre Lodgaard, has previously been a guest of IPIS
in Tehran. END COMMENT.
Whitney