SUNNI VP HASHIMI PLANNING FOR HIS FIRST OFFICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000905 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL IR IZ SUBJECT: SUNNI VP HASHIMI PLANNING FOR HIS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO IRAN Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel Speckhard per 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi discussed with the Ambassador on March 9 his upcoming official visit to Tehran. In preparation for his departure on March 11, Hashimi asked for the Ambassador's input on what to raise with his Iranian interlocutors. The Ambassador and Hashimi also briefly discussed the latest news on a reformed de-Ba'athification law and the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC). Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) Deputy Secretary General Ayad Samarraie also attended the meeting. END SUMMARY. -------------- Samarraie Says PM Needs to Consult More -------------- ¶2. (C) Before turning to discussion of the visit, Samarraie said the IIP would support the PM, but the PM needs to discuss issues with the IIP and share policy-making responsibilities. Samarraie characterized Maliki as having sectarian behavior and said the PM often makes "wrong" decisions. He noted that when the PM discussed the Baghdad Security Plan with the IIP, the IIP supported the plan and refrained from criticizing it, even when many IIP members' houses were searched. He said that part of the problem is that many of the PM's advisers have negative impressions of the IIP. Samarraie concluded that the IIP would not support the PM without cooperation from him. -------------- First Official Visit to Iran -------------- ¶3. (C) Hashimi said he would be leaving on March 11 for his first official visit to Iran and asked the Ambassador for advice on what he would like Hashimi to discuss with his interlocutors. The Ambassador said Washington is not opposed to Iraq having political and economic ties to Iran. However, the Ambassador continued, Iran is sending weapons and supplies to support Jaysh al-Mahdi, the Badr Organization, some smaller Shia groups, and some Sunni groups in western Iraq, and the United States wants Iran to stop this support. He said Washington also would like to see Iran control its border and remove its Quds Force officers from its embassies and consulates in Iraq. ¶4. (C) Hashimi noted the Ambassador's points and said he is going to ask the Iranians about their policy on being a safe haven for Iraqi militia leaders. He asked for Washington's position on the Mujahideen al-Khalq (MEK). The Ambassador replied that the MEK is an issue between Iraq and Iran, although the U.S. would prefer to see its members resettled elsewhere. Hashimi thought the Iranians would raise the issue of their kidnapped diplomat. The Ambassador assured the VP that the U.S. had nothing to do with the kidnapping. -------------- -------------- Update on the De-Ba'athification Law, Constitutional Review -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Hashimi said he met with the IIP's lawyer and point person for de-Ba'athification, Salim al-Jabbouri, earlier in the day, and they had a few changes to make to the proposed draft of the de-Ba'athification law. Hashimi said he would meet with VP Mehdi the next day to continue working on the law. The Ambassador said the PM had said he would support the law that the Presidency Council agreed upon. Hashimi noted that they still needed to work out how to make law 81, which dealt with the property of former government officials, consistent with the new de-Ba'athification law. ¶6. (C) Samarraie, who is one of two deputy chairmen of the CRC, said Itilaf and Tawafuq are much closer on many issues after the CRC's UN-sponsored travels in February. (Note: Salim al-Jabbouri, another member of the CRC, told Poloffs the same thing on March 7.) Samarraie said he thought the major point of contention on the committee is going to be about Article 140, which lays out how to determine the future status of Kirkuk and other disputed territories through a normalization process, census, and referendum. The Ambassador suggested that the United Nations should get involved, and Samarraie replied that the Iraqis probably would seek U.S. help on this issue in the future. SPECKHARD