TUNISIA ADVERTISES GOOD TIES WITH IRAN, SYRIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000973

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG (WLAWRENCE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2016
TAGS: PHUM ETRD SY IR TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA ADVERTISES GOOD TIES WITH IRAN, SYRIA

REF: A. TUNIS 435


B. TUNIS 141

C. 05 TUNIS 2433

Classified By: Charg d'Affaires, a.i., David Ballard; Reasons 1.4 (b);
(d)


1. (C) Summary. Through its mostly-government controlled
press, Tunisian officials are playing up positive economic
and cultural exchanges between Tunisia and officials in Iran
and Syria. Two visits to Tunis within a week--Iranian Vice
President for Tourism and Heritage on April 15, and Syrian
Prime Minister al-Otri on April 20-21--were covered
extensively in both Arabic and French language press.
Examined in detail, neither visit broke new ground (although
Syrians reportedly agreed to a new convention on penal codes
and the extradition of criminals, which could be linked to
Tunisians arrested in Syria on their way to support the Iraq
insurgency); the press play is more likely designed to show
some official loyalty to these two Muslim nations under fire
from the West, and keep options open, especially with Iran,
should the GOT need its favor in the future. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The latest public mention of Tunisan-Iranian ties
came during the April 15 visit of Iranian Vice President for
Tourism and Heritage Isqandar Rahim, whose stop in Tunis was
widely covered by Arab and French-language press. Rahim did
not meet with Tunisian President Ben Ali (he was received by
the Prime Minister),but he gave one-on-one interviews with
two Tunisian publications, one the Arabic daily Ash-Shourouq
and the bi-lingual weekly magazine Observateur, the latter
titled with a quote from Rahim: "Iran today cannot be
threatened." Indeed, out of 10 questions posed by the
interviewer, nine concerned Iran's current nuclear standoff;
only one addressed future tourism between the two countries.


3. (C) Press reports call Rahim's visit the latest in a
series of visits by senior Iranian envoys from the Ministry
of Communication, Justice, and the Central Bank and talk
about the long-standing friendship between Tunisia and Iran
(Ref B). (NB: In fact, Tunisia had almost no relationship
with post-revolutionary Iran until the late 80s, when
President Ben Ali, presumably for tactical reasons, initiated
a rapprochement.)


4. (SBU) Media portrayed Rahim's visit as aimed at
strengthening tourism and cultural relations through future
bilateral tourism exhibitions, mutual tourism and cultural
weeks later in 2006, increased cooperation on holistic
medical treatments, as well as increasing tourism figures
through potential direct flights.


5. (C) Similarly, Syrian Prime Minister al-Otri's April 21-22
visit and meeting with President Ben Ali was detailed
throughout the local press. Part of a pre-scheduled round of
the Tunisian-Syrian Joint High Commission, the visit resulted
in the usual cooperative accords in trade, education, and
social issues; of some interest was a reported agreement on
the extradition of criminals, likely linked to the return of
Tunisian nationals arrested in Syria en route to support the
insurgency in Iraq. Press articles quoted Minister of
Communications and Parliamentary Relations Dkhil praising the
"unity of the brotherly people of Syria and Tunisia," and the
intent of both Presidents Ben Ali and al-Asad to move the
relationship to "higher levels."


6. (C) In a related story, independent Tunisian journalist
Rachid Hachana published an article in the April 24 edition
of al-Hayat about the recently concluded US-Tunisia Joint
Military Commission (JMC) talks in Washington with the
subtitle "Washington concerns about Tunisia becoming closer
to Iran and Syria." Hachana quotes "American sources," but
when reached by phone admitted that this referred to a
variety of American friends, in the U.S. and abroad, who were
speculating on Washington's reaction.


7. (C) Comment: The GOT is publicly waving this interesting,
but not overly-significant, strengthening of ties with Iran
and Syria for the predictable reasons: to show loyalty to
Muslim nations under pressure from the West and to remind
anyone watching that Tunisia has economic and political
options outside Europe and the U.S. It is also likely that
the GOT sees it as advantageous to develop some credit with
Iran, so that Tunisia is in a position to call in the
favor--perhaps in the form of cheap energy--at a later time.
(Tunisia, a net importer of its energy needs, has been hard
hit by oil price hikes. Refs A and C.)
BALLARD