U.S. 60-DAY REPORT TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON UNSCR

UNCLAS BERLIN 001126 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR ISN, EB, NEA, IO, VCI, P, T, EUR, AND TREASURY-TFI SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP EFIN IR UNSC AORC ETRD TRGY GM SUBJECT: U.S. 60-DAY REPORT TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL ON UNSCR 1747 (IRAN SANCTIONS) PASSED TO GERMANY REF: STATE 73219 ¶1. (SBU) Global Affairs officer conveyed ref demarche to German MFA UN Policy Division Desk Officer Mirko Schilbach June 1. Schilbach said he will share the U.S. report with other appropriate officials in the German Government. He, in turn, shared a copy of the report that Germany submitted to the UNSCR 1747 Sanctions Committee on German implementation of UNSCRs 1737 and 1747. Schilbach noted that accompanying the German national report was a report submitted by Germany in its capacity as EU President to the UNSCR 1747 Sanctions Committee concerning EU-wide implementation of the sanctions, based on the EU Common Position adopted in April 2007. Despite the submission of this EU-wide report, however, each EU member state is responsible for submitting its own national report to the Sanctions Committee, Schilbach said. ¶2. (SBU) Germany, Schilbach, said, did not need to pass new legislation to implement the UNSCR 1737 and 1747 sanctions on Iran, thanks to the EU's Common Position and corresponding Regulations on implementing the sanctions. Furthermore, Germany had not exported any weapons to nor imported any arms from Iran in the time period well before the sanctions were approved by the UNSC, according to Schilbach. Concerning action to freeze the assets of Bank Sepah in Frankfurt, Schilbach said the German Government had the necessary authority to do this in advance of the adoption of the EU Common Position. He noted that although Bank Sepah continues to exist, the German Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economics are monitoring its activities and only allowing it to pay necessary expenditures without allowing it to conduct any transactions in violation of the UN sanctions. ¶3. (SBU) Germany strictly applies the visa restrictions on Iranians listed under the UNSC sanctions, Schilbach said. Nevertheless, Germany does not necessarily have reasons to bar the travel of Iranians who are not listed. Schilbach noted that Iranians who are not listed could potentially obtain visas to visit Germany and attend arms fairs, but they would be unable to buy German arms or related material, because German exporters would be unable to obtain export licenses in such cases. In addition, German Customs authorities have been alerted to check exports from Germany to Iran to ensure that no military goods or dual-use goods that could support WMD programs are shipped there. Because of the German Government's oversight of exports to Iran and also because of the increasing uncertainty of doing business there, German firms are becoming more cautious in dealing with Iran, Schilbach added. He said that German firms make more inquiries with the German Federal Economic and Export Licensing Agency (BAFA) about trade with Iran than before the UNSC sanctions were enacted. ¶4. (SBU) On a separate issue, Schilbach commented on the May 31 meeting in Madrid between Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, and Ali Larijani, Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and chief nuclear negotiator. Schilbach contended the EU was not naive in agreeing to the talks with Larijani. Instead, the EU believes it is worth communicating with Iran concerning the impasse over the latter's nuclear program, and Larijani is seen as perhaps the only approachable high-level Iranian official at this point, according to Schilbach. TIMKEN JR