DEMARCHE DELIVERED IN SUPPORT OF ARGENTINA'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 003223 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/BSC SLATTERY AND CROFT; NEA/IR HUMMEL; S/CT SIERRA; AND L/LEI MCSHAIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2017 TAGS: KJUS PTER ASEC PREL PGOV EG IR SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED IN SUPPORT OF ARGENTINA'S REQUEST FOR INTERPOL RED NOTICES AGAINST IRANIAN OFFICIALS REF: SECSTATE 147320 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor William R. Stewart for Reas ons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) As requested in reftel, Embassy has confirmed that an Egyptian Ministry of Interior (MOI) delegation is attending the Interpol General Assembly meeting in Marrakech, Morocco from November 5 to 8. ¶2. (C) On November 7, Poloff spoke to Argentina's Ambassador to Egypt, Luis Enrique Cabbagli, regarding a U.S. demarche in support of Argentina's request for the Interpol General Assembly to approve the issuance of red notices against Iranian officials charged for their roles in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Jewish Mutual Association in Buenos Aires. Ambassador Cabbagli said he raised the issue with Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was referred to the MOI. His attempts to schedule an appointment to discuss the matter with the MOI were unsuccessful. Because he viewed the GOE as unreceptive to his approaches, he said he would welcome U.S. support with the Government of Egypt. ¶3. (C) Separately on November 7, Poloff met with Dr. Ashref Mohsen, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Counter Terrorism, and delivered reftel demarche. While Mohsen was generally familiar with the issue, he lamented the lack of time to fully review what he considered a complex issue. In his view, the issue was complicated by questions of immunity and he expressed concern that this type of issue could politicize Interpol. Nonetheless, citing a strong counterterrorism alliance between the U.S. and Egypt, he said that Egypt would endeavor to be supportive. RICCIARDONE