U.S. STATEMENT ON IRAN

UNCLAS OUAGADOUGOU 000420 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL CH IR SG SUBJECT: U.S. STATEMENT ON IRAN REF: SECSTATE 87682 ¶1. (SBU) DCM presented demarche to Salifou Sawadogo, Chef de Cabinet of the Prime Minister. The President and Minister of Foreign Affairs are both out of the country, and the Prime Minister is unavailable until next week. Sawadogo took careful notes as DCM presented demarche, summarized the actions that the U.S. is seeking of the GOBF and said that he would relay our points to the Prime Minister. ¶2. (SBU) Sawadogo made a point to comment that Burkina Faso is supportive of the U.S. position on large global issues. He observed that because Burkina is a small, impoverished country, issues relating to international stability are important to the country. High oil prices are becoming a political liability for the country's leadership and as Iran is a major oil producer, Middle East stability and its impact on international oil prices resonate with the government. DCM said that she would follow-up with Sawodogo on Monday regarding the Prime Minister's reaction. ¶3. (SBU) By chance, on May 31, the Israeli ambassador, who is resident in Abidjan, paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador. During the course of their meeting, the Israeli ambassador said that he had heard that Iran was planning to open an embassy in Burkina Faso. (Comment, Iran previously had an embassy in Ouagadougou, and post is trying to confirm when it closed. End comment.) DCM took the opportunity of the demarche to raise this issue with Sawodogo. Sawodogo cautiously responded by saying he did not have any information on this and therefore could not answer the DCM,s question. DCM then suggested that if the GOBF had good relations with Iran, the GOBF should use that relationship to encourage the GOI to the negotiating table. DCM further commented that the international community had to be united in its position regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. Jackson