IRAN: DFM KISLYAK ON VISIT BY IRANIAN GENERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001608 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2017 TAGS: PREL PARM UNSC IR RS SUBJECT: IRAN: DFM KISLYAK ON VISIT BY IRANIAN GENERAL Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons: 1.4(B & D). ¶1. (C) In an April 10 meeting with DFM Kislyak, the Ambassador expressed disappointment with the April 4-8 Moscow visit by Iranian Deputy Interior Minister/IRGC General Mohammed Zolqadr, who was designated in UNSCR 1747 Annex I as a key person in the IRGC. The Ambassador pressed for an explanation for the visit by a designated individual, in the wake of our successful collaboration in adopting UNSCR 1747, and noted the Iranian government's trumpeting of the visit as "proof" that the sanctions regime lacked effectiveness. ¶2. (C) DFM Kislyak defended Russia's compliance with the Iranian sanctions resolutions, noting that the GOR had notified the UNSC Sanctions Committee in advance of the visit and had strictly limited its scope to discussions about border controls and counter-narcotics cooperation. He acknowledged that Zolqadr's post-visit comments about the sanctions regime had been "very unhelpful" and underlined that the Russians had made that clear to the Iranians. Russia would look for ways to rebut Zolqadr's comments and reaffirm Russian support for the sanctions regime. DFM Kislyak also pointed to the MFA's April 9 statement on Zolqadr's visit, stressing the GOR's compliance with UNSCR ¶1747. BURNS