RESPONSE RECEIVED TO IRAN DEMARCHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 003298 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR P, AF, ISN/RA, IO/T, AF/S E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2017 TAGS: PARM MNUC PREL KNNP AORC IAEA UNSC IR SF SUBJECT: RESPONSE RECEIVED TO IRAN DEMARCHES REF: A. UNVIE 0531 ¶B. PRETORIA 3264 ¶C. KAY/MARBURG EMAIL OF 09-14-2007 ¶D. PRETORIA 3265 ¶E. SECSTATE 124747 ¶F. SECSTATE 123352 ¶G. SECSTATE 125430 ¶H. PRETORIA 3279 Classified By: Chief of Mission Eric M. Bost. Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Congratulations to all involved in the successful senior-level interventions which resulted in positive movement of the South African position on Iran (Ref A). Closing the loop on Mission's efforts (Ref B),Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad faxed the following brief written reply to the Ambassador on 14 September responding to Ref E-F demarche points and non-paper. Begin Text: Dear Ambassador, I regret that we were unable to talk on the phone yesterday. I am sending you a copy of Mr. Minty's speech made at the IAEA Board of Governor's (sic) meeting (12/09/07) and an abstract from Mr. Baradei's speech. I believe that this will help give an understanding of SA's positions re Iran's nuclear issue. Kind regards, /s/ AZIZ PAHAD End text. ¶2. (SBU) Attached to this one-page note was the full text of South African IAEA Governor Abdul Minty's Board of Governors statement, delivered on 12 September under the Iran agenda item, as well as the portion of IAEA Director General ElBaradei's opening remarks which dealt with the Iran question. (NOTE: Full text of Pahad's response was scanned and emailed to AF/S on 14 September, Ref C.) Nothing in the response addressed the Burma points, also passed to Pahad's office in advance of the requested telephone conversation (Refs D and G). ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Pahad's strict adherance to the written party line on Iran is in stark contrast to the free-flowing discussions in which he engages on other sensitive policy matters (Ref H). This reflects the degree of policy authority senior SAG decisionmakers have ceded to DDG Minty on this issue. Even if Pahad and other senior officials are beginning to doubt Iranian sincerity, they have little interest in displacing Minty as the SAG's principal interlocutor -- he is the undisputed policy expert and a respected and trusted figure from the anti-apartheid struggle. We will have to continue to cultivate and convince Minty if we wish to see further positive movement from South Africa. END COMMENT. Bost