MEDIA REACTION: IRANIAN PREMIER VISITS MUSCAT, DEMOCRACY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000474 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRANIAN PREMIER VISITS MUSCAT, DEMOCRACY VERSUS STABILITY ¶1. SUMMARY: In the leadup to this week's visit by Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Iran's ambassador to Oman calls their bilateral relations "exemplary," adding that American "ships and war fleets" are the real danger to the environment and regional stability, and that he supports a GCC nuclear program and GCC free trade agreement with Iran. Both private and government dailies welcome Ahmadinejad's visit with "open arms;" a local professor questions whether democracy at the price of stability is desirable. Local dailies give substantial coverage to the visit of the CENTCOM commander to Muscat and to the establishment of U.S. nonprofit AMIDEAST in Oman. END SUMMARY. -------------- COVERAGE -------------- ¶2. On Monday, May 14, news of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's state visit to Oman received prominent, above-the-fold front-page coverage in all Omani dailies. Earlier in the week, state-owned Arabic daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) published an interview with Iranian Ambassador Murtada Rahimi. On Thursday, May 10, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon's visit to the Sultanate received prominent coverage in all dailies. Also on May 10, the signing ceremony for the opening of Muscat's AMIDEAST office received prominent coverage. On Sunday, May 13, dailies carried news of Ambassador Grappo's meeting with Abdullah bin Abbas bin Ahmad, head of the Muscat municipality. Excerpts of Iran coverage follow: -------------- IRAN VISIT HIGHLIGHTS "PEACEFUL" NUKE PROGRAM -------------- ¶3. "Al-Shabiba", youth-oriented Arabic daily (circulation 20,000), May 7, 2007, by Muhammad al Balushi: "This visit is the second by an Iranian leader to the Sultanate since the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. Muhammad KHATAMI was the first... According to high-level sources, the Iranian president and His Majesty the Sultan will discuss...regional and international issues, especially Iraq. The Iranian president will highlight his country's position on the nuclear program and its peaceful goals, under the shadow of the [Arab] Gulf's environmental fears about the proximity of the Bushehr reactor to the waters of the Gulf." 
 -------------- - IRANIAN ENVOY: RELATIONS WITH OMAN "EXEMPLARY" -------------- - ¶4. "Oman" ran a Sunday, May 13 article that included excerpts of an interview with Iran's ambassador to the Sultanate, Murtada Rahimi. The Ambassador stressed the "exemplary" relations between the two states and spoke of increasing cooperation in trade and tourism, including the possibility of opening an Iranian trade office in the Omani city of Khasab (or even in Muscat),similar to the Omani trade office in Bandar Abbas. Rahimi said Iran was open to a free trade agreement with the GCC and was "ready to support" a GCC nuclear energy program. -------------- -------------- "NO BASIS IN SCIENTIFIC FACT" FOR NUCLEAR WORRIES -------------- -------------- ¶5. The Ambassador also said that "Iran's nuclear activities are an Iranian technical and scientific achievement, re-invigorating the pride of Iranians and, we hope, Islamic peoples. What is rumored about Iran's nuclear program, its danger and the worry about it, has no basis in scientific fact or full verification. Iran's nuclear activities are under the continuing observation of the IAEA's camera lenses. The [IAEA] is concerned with confirming the investigation of the peaceful nature of Iran's activities and dissipating worry. Iran suggested establishing a consortium with all countries, including those of the region, to cooperate and protect it from any dangers." -------------- -------------- "WAR FLEETS," NOT IRAN, ARE TRUE DANGER TO REGION -------------- -------------- ¶6. [According to Iran's Ambassador], "the danger to the environment and to the region is hidden in the existence of the ships and war fleets that have no reason to be involved with security and stability... Iran is not the source of tension... It is ready to MUSCAT 00000474 002 OF 003 negotiate with all countries...(except the Zionist regime). The situation is not in the interests of any side, and the Americans know very well that increasing the tension will lead to losses at a time when they face numerous difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan. They must search for solutions to these escalating problems. As for the Islamic Republic of Iran, it works to preserve stability and get rid of any tension while it preserves its rights and achievements." -------------- -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: MUSCAT'S "OPEN ARMS" FOR AHMADINEJAD -------------- -------------- ¶7. On May 4, state-owned daily "Oman" published an editorial entitled "Broad Horizon for Enhancing Omani-Iranian Relations": "Today, Muscat opens its welcoming arms to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the friendly Islamic Republic of Iran... The Sultanate has previously confirmed its support for the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to obtain and possess peaceful nuclear technology and use it for peaceful goals. That is a legitimate right for all countries that have signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty... Together, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Arab countries support a Middle East region free from weapons of mass destruction, and they also support the discarding of double standards and customary policies that have not succeeded in forging international cooperation to deal with this question that concerns the present and future of both the countries of the region and its people." -------------- OMAN IS AHMADINEJAD'S "SECOND COUNTRY" -------------- ¶8. On May 14, privately owned "Al-Watan" (circulation 42,000) published an editorial entitled, "Welcome to the Great Iranian Guest": "Bilateral relations between the Sultanate and the Islamic Republic of Iran have singular importance... They are an effective source for preserving world peace and guaranteeing the flow of petroleum energy resources...to all the world's markets. It is natural that Gulf security is an important concern for all the inhabitants of the region who suffer the effects of foreign interference. Events have shown the composure of mind and keen estimation of objective circumstances that His Majesty [Sultan Qaboos] possesses. When crises intensify and war threatens to break out, it is then that the historical importance of the relations, and their extensive stock of confidence, comes into play. His Majesty...has worked to establish these relations, in pursuit of securing the shared interests of the region's people. Today, the Sultanate receives President Ahmadenijad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is an important visit for the two friendly countries in all of its dimensions and comes amidst circumstances that are laden with possibilities for what concerns regional security... Due to the very active nature of this region, all eyes are on the results of today's discussions between the two great leaders, H.M. Sultan Qaboos and his guest the Iranian president, so we say 'welcome' to the guest who is amongst his people and in his second country; as is its custom, the Sultanate opens its arms and its heart to all who instill in it feelings of fraternity and friendship, the desire for integration, and sincere cooperation." -------------- DEMOCRACY OR STABILITY? -------------- ¶9. On May 9, Sultan Qaboos University Professor Ubaiyd al Shaqsi wrote an article in "Oman" asking, "Is Democracy at the Price of Stability Justified?": "What is the criteria for evaluating successful democracy? Can we judge a democracy as being successful if it comes at the price of stability, or should we prize stability over democracy? The world's memory embraces the first equation only in the minds of those who want to promote democracy for their own personal interests. The American administration has continuously promoted the notion [prizing democracy over stability] through the statements of its Secretary of State Rice, who said during her 2005 visit to Egypt SIPDIS that the U.S. had worked for 60 years to consolidate stability at the price of democracy in the region without any positive results and that now America would change its approach, because of its MUSCAT 00000474 003 OF 003 belief in democracy and peoples' desire for it. This meant that from that point on, America would emphasize democracy over stability. Yet Rice seemed to change her mind when she witnessed how America faced chaos in Iraq in mid-January, and she started to bet on stability rather than democracy. Not necessarily for the sake of the people in the Arab world, but rather to protect her country's interests and reputation. Now that America has proved its failure in Iraq and Afghanistan, its slogans of democracy have started to slowly fade away, due to the security crises not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in many parts of the Middle East." GRAPPO