KHATAMI VISITS JAPAN; SEES KOIZUMI; AZADEGAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 004969

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2016
TAGS: PREL PARM ECON ENGY IR JA
SUBJECT: KHATAMI VISITS JAPAN; SEES KOIZUMI; AZADEGAN
NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JOSEPH DONOVAN FOR REASONS 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Koizumi warned former
Iranian President Khatami that Iran would be wise to
cooperate with the international community rather than
continue to isolate itself, during an August 24 meeting.
Khatami, in both his public remarks and in his meeting with
Koizumi, maintained that Iran's nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only. MOFA working-level officials report
that negotiations continue on developing the Azadegan oil
fields, but expect little progress while the nuclear issue is
pending. Iranian DFM for Legal and International Affairs
Abbas Araghchi will visit Tokyo shortly to discuss the
nuclear issue. Japan has not yet seen a copy of Iran's
response to the P5 plus 1 offer and is unable to comment on
it. END SUMMARY.

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MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI
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2. (C) Former Iranian president Seyyed Mohammad Khatami
visited Japan August 24-26, to deliver lecture on August 25
at Tokyo's United Nations University on "Dialogue Among
Civilizations", and to participate August 26 in the World
Religious Peace Forum in Kyoto. He was granted a meeting
with Prime Minister Koizumi on August 24.


3. (C) Koizumi was joined in the Khatami meeting by former
Prime Minister Mori, who last received Khatami in Tokyo when
he had visited as Iran's president in 2000, according to MOFA
Second Middle East Division's Takashi Kamada's read-out to
Embassy Tokyo Political Officer on August 28. Iran's nuclear
program is purely for peaceful purposes, Khatami told
Koizumi, and Tehran does not plan to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran seeks to solve the dispute with the West over its
nuclear program through dialogue and hopes Japan will help in
convincing the United States and the European nations of
Iran's view. If the U.S. and United Nations push Iran too
hard, Khatami asserted, extremist and radical groups in Iran
will come to the fore and overwhelm those seeking a more
moderate solution. Koizumi replied that Japan values and
wishes to maintain its good relationship with Iran, but urged
Iran to respect the will of the international community. He
warned Khatami that Japan had made the mistake of becoming
isolated from the international community and had paid a
terrible price. In contrast, once Japan rejoined the family
of nations it had done extremely well and had prospered to
the benefit of its people.


4. (C) Turing to the subject of Iraq, Khatami explained that
Iran supports the process of democratization in Iraq and
that, accordingly, its views on Iraq are closely in synch
with those of the United States. He lamented that the United
States does not understand this and again asked Japan to help
explain Tehran's views.

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NEGOTIATIONS ON AZADEGAN
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5. (C) When asked about reports that Japan was being
pressured by the Iranians over the Azadegan oil field issue
and that Japan has decided to stop funding the project,
Kamada replied that Inpex Corporation is continuing to
negotiate with the National Iranian Oil Company. The hang
up, he said, continues to be the clearance of landmines. He
was reluctant to officially confirm that a decision has been
made to withhold government financing for the project but
said that he does not think the Azadegan project can move
forward as long as tension over the nuclear issue persists.
The two issues are linked, he admitted, although the Japanese
are careful never to admit this to the Iranians. As a
private company, Inpex is free to negotiate with the
Iranians. However, it is heavily dependent on government
financing from JPIC and NEXI. While the government cannot
directly intervene in the contract negotiations, it can
withhold needed funding, he pointed out.

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PUBLIC REMARKS
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6. (U) On August 25, Embassy Tokyo Political Officer
attended Khatami's U Thant Distinguished Lecture at Tokyo's
United Nations University entitled "Dialogue Among
Civilizations: A Necessity for Living in Peace and
Non-Violence, Bridging the Development Gap Among Nations, and
Building Global Citizenship." Although his prepared remarks
did not touch upon Iran's nuclear program, a number of the
questions he was asked following the lecture did. Khatami
stated that uranium is a "polluting material" and that Iran

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does not want or need access to nuclear weapons. Over 30
percent of Japan's electricity is generated by nuclear power
plants; Iran has a legitimate right to do the same, he said.


7. (U) While other nations have offered to provide fuel for
Iran's program, Iran cannot trust others to provide such fuel
after Iran has invested billions to develop and construct the
required infrastructure, Khatami argued. To justify Iran's
mistrust, Khatami cited the case of a contract for Airbus
aircraft that he said was not fulfilled due to pressure from
the United States, even after Iran had made the down payments
required for the planes. Moreover, he maintained, the
quantity and purity of the uranium Iran is enriching is not a
threat to others. Alluding to Israel, he contrasted Iran's
program to those of "other powers in the region which can
produce tens of nuclear weapons each year and who are
supported by others." Khatami charged that it is not Iran,
but "others" who want to precipitate a crisis over the
nuclear issue and proclaimed Iran's readiness to negotiate a
just settlement. Iran is entitled to use nuclear energy, he
concluded, warning that it would be a great injustice if Iran
were to be isolated and the power to decide its fate left in
the hands of a few other countries.


8. (U) With regard to terrorism and violence in the world,
Khatami warned that the media is a tool controlled by those
who exercise power to promote war and violence, not love and
friendship. Following the end of the Cold War, the West
needed a new enemy to justify its continued need for power so
"Islamophobia" was created to replace communism. In turn,
extremist Islamic groups sprung up to combat this. The
purveyors of both policies are cut from the same cloth: they
promote violence and hatred rather than peace and love. With
regard to Iraq, Khatami said that everyone agrees Saddam was
a brutal dictator who the world will not miss, but the United
States had, by invading Iraq, promoted the increased
terrorism that is leading to the daily deaths of Iraqi,
American, and British citizens. The violence taking place in
the world today is due to the misguided and wrong policies of
some countries. "The United States claims to be fighting
terrorism, but what they are really doing is promoting
instability in the region."


9. (U) When asked whether politics and religion are
compatible, Khatami responded that they are and must be. He
warned that science and politics must have ethics and argued
that religion is the source of the morals, ethics, and
justice that all governments must seek to attain. He said
that the three major religions have many values in common and
must be used to unite, rather than to divide. He closed by
saying that the unjust policies of some countries are
responsible for the misuse of religion by extremist elements.

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IRANIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT
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10. (C) Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and
International Affairs Abbas Araghchi will visit Tokyo shortly
and has requested a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister
Tsuneo Nishida to discuss the nuclear issue, Kamada told us.

SIPDIS
This meeting will likely take place either late on August 31
following Nishida's return that day from Central Asia or on
September 1. Nishida, he said, will deliver Tokyo's
consistent message that Iran should comply with the decisions
of the international community. Kamada pointed out that
despite the fact that Japan is a UNSC member, it has yet to
see a copy of Iran's response to the P5 plus 1 initiative
therefore making it impossible to formulate a position on it.
DONOVAN