TAKING THE GOOD (AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST) WITH THE

S E C R E T SANTIAGO 001004

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2017
TAGS: IR PINR PREL PTER CI
SUBJECT: TAKING THE GOOD (AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST) WITH THE
BAD (IRAN) AS CHILE OPENS TO THE WORLD

REF: A. SANTIAGO 974

B. SANTIAGO 796

C. ALSACE-BLAKENEY 06/20 E-MAIL

Classified By: Charge a.i. Emi Yamauchi for reasons 1.5 (b and d).

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Iran in Chile
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1. (S) Ricardo Ortiz, the MFA's Acting Director for the
Middle East and Africa, confirmed to E/Pol Counselor on June
21 that Iran would open an embassy in Santiago, as MFA
Director General Portales told the Ambassador June 15 (ref
A). Ortiz said Chile and Iran had always maintained
diplomatic relations but that for several years - from
approximately 1993 onwards - the Iranian ambassador
accredited to Chile had been resident in Tehran, visiting
Santiago 3-4 times a year. Indeed, Ortiz said, he had seen
the Iranian ambassador off at the airport after his last
visit, in late 2006. Ortiz speculated that budgetary reasons
had kept Iran from maintaining a resident ambassador in
Santiago. Relations had always been "correct," so when
Tehran asked for consent to open an embassy in Santiago,
there was no good reason to deny the request.


2. (S) E/Pol Counselor noted that the decision had come as
something of a surprise. Past signals - including in a
conversation he had with Ambassador Lira (head of the MFA's
South America division) in May 2007 - had indicated Chile
would prefer not to have an Iranian embassy in Santiago.
Lira had noted then that Chile shared concerns with the USG
over possible Iranian support for terrorism-related
activities in South America, as one reason to keep the
Iranians out (ref B). Ortiz acknowledged such concerns, but
said Chile was known hostile territory for terrorists and, in
any event, Chilean security forces would monitor Iranian
activities closely, including any "possible ties to
fundamentalist groups." Ortiz said that "he did not know" if
Iranian purchase of USD 45 million in copper had played a
role in the decision, but that the MFA's economic division
might have such figures. (Comment: Ortiz may be disingenuous
here. Post was told by a reliable source that Deputy FM Van
Klaveren had recently admitted as much.)

3.(S) Ortiz said no date had been agreed on when the Iranians
would open an embassy in Santiago, nor had there been any
discussion of the number of diplomats Tehran would assign to
it. The MFA would ensure, however, that the number was
"consistent" with the nature of the bilateral and commercial
relationship, i.e. not large. He added that Chile had "no
plans" to open an embassy in Tehran.

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Chile's Long-Standing Interest in Middle East
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4. (C) Ortiz observed that the statement issued by the MFA on
June 19, supporting Mahmoud Abbas's emergency government and
calling for an end to violence in the Middle East (ref C),
reflected Chile's historic interest in the region. He said
the statement was just the latest in a long string of such
declarations clearly marking Chile's support for a peaceful
resolution of the conflict. Chile has a large, established
("three-generations") Palestinian-origin community and a
smaller but also influential Jewish community which generated
interest - and necessitated balance - in Chile's Middle East
policy. Ortiz added that there were growing Chilean economic
ties with the region, noting Chile was in the process of
opening a commercial office in Dubai. King Abdullah II of
Jordan is planning a state visit to Chile in October 2007.
The trip has more symbolic than practical value as commercial
ties between Chile and Jordan are "weak." Ortiz thought

Abdullah would likely travel to other Southern Cone countries
while in the region.

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Growing Chilean Interest in Sub-Saharan Africa
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5. (C) Ortiz said that his chief, Ambassador Manuel Hinojosa,
was currently traveling in Africa. This was evidence of
increased Chilean interaction with several countries in
sub-Saharan Africa -- including Mozamabique and Angola.
Chile's interest in Africa was driven, in part, by a search
to diversify its potential energy sources, as well as part of
Chile's overall interest in expanding ties beyond traditional
partners.
YAMAUCHI