IRANIAN AMBASSADOR SEES DOWNTURN IN

S E C R E T MANAMA 000130

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2017
TAGS: PREL PINR IR BA REGION
SUBJECT: IRANIAN AMBASSADOR SEES DOWNTURN IN
IRANIAN-BAHRAINI RELATIONS

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe. Reason: 1.4 (B)(D)


1. (S) An Arab Ambassador in Bahrain provided the Ambassador
with a readout of departing Iranian Ambassador Mohammed
Farazmand's farewell call during which Farazmand frankly
acknowledged that he was happy to leave Bahrain at this time
because of the difficulty of representing the current Iranian
regime and because Iranian-Bahraini relations had reached a
"point of crisis."


2. (S) Farazmand, who indicated that he was in the
Khatami/Rafsanjani camp, was critical of President
Ahmadinejad, and wanted nothing to do with him. As an
example of what Ahmadinejad was doing to the country, he
cited a USD 20 billion fund for future generations which the
president had squandered and depleted through distributions
to pet projects in Iranian cities. Farazmand likewise did
not give high marks to Foreign Minister Mottaki. He said
that he would go back to Tehran and lie low until things
change.


3. (S) Farazmand was particularly disappointed about the
downturn in Iran's relations with Bahrain. When he came to
Bahrain more than three years ago, he stated, things were
looking up. Bahrain had just given a license to open up an
Iranian hospital, allowed the establishment up of a joint
venture with two Iranian banks (now called Future bank),and
welcomed official and business visitors. Now, the license
for the hospital has been canceled, transit visas have been
blocked, and business visas are harder to come by. He cited
the example of a recent conference for which an Iranian
company was a major sponsor. At the last minute, a visa for
the president of the Iranian company was denied, derailing
the company's participation. Farazmand told the Arab
Ambassador that "we are in a very bad point in the
relationship between our two countries," and that he was
leaving Bahrain "very disappointed."


4. (S) Farazmand said he was not impressed with the slate of
candidates put forward by major Shia party Al-Wifaq in the
recent parliamentary elections. In many cases, they ran weak
candidates who defeated much more capable Shia who had served
in the parliament the previous four years. He was also
critical of Al-Wifaq's decision to boycott the opening
session of parliament, saying it was pointless. Asked if, as
alleged by some, Iran had funneled any money to Shia
candidates, Farazmand flatly denied it. If Iran had done so,
he stated, it would have supported more capable candidates.
Asked from where Al-Wifaq got its funding, Farazmand
maintained that leading Shia cleric Shaikh Isa Qassim had
attained such a level in the religious heirarchy that he was
free to expend the "khums" (obligatory Shia tithe) he
collected as he wished, which included spending for Al-Wifaq.
(Comment: it was unclear whether he was indicating that these
were funds solely collected domestically, or also included
funds from abroad, specifically Iran. End comment.)


5. (C) On regional issues, Farazmand said that Iran's recent
engagement with Saudi Arabia on Lebanon was driven out of the
office of Khamenei, not Ahmadinejad. He said that Qatar
welcomed a downturn in Iran's relations with the GCC
countries because it felt this gave Qatar an opportunity to
play an enhanced role.


6. (S) Comment: Previous Iranian Ambassadors have been
accused of meddling in Bahrain's internal affairs, but
Farazmand had a reputation of behaving cleanly and according
to diplomatic norms. He was active, quite social, well-liked
and reasonably effective. He previously served seven years
in Saudi Arabia. He was considered a "moderate," and, given
his ties to Khatami, had reportedly expected to be called
back to Tehran rather quickly when Ahmadinejad began
recalling Khatami ambassdorial allies last year. For some
reason, he is only now leaving.

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MONROE