MOFA DIRECTOR GENERAL VISITS TEHRAN, URGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000124 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2017 TAGS: PREL PINR IR JA SUBJECT: MOFA DIRECTOR GENERAL VISITS TEHRAN, URGES COMPLIANCE WITH UNSCR 1737 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Joseph Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During a January 7 visit to Tehran, MOFA Director General for Middle Eastern Affairs Okuda urged Iranian officials to comply with the will of the international community and abide by the provisions of UNSCR 1737, according to a MOFA contact. The Iranians replied, predictably, that the resolution was politically motivated, that Iran has the right to develop its peaceful nuclear energy industry, and that Japan should try to sympathize more with the Iranian perspective. Neither Lebanon nor the Azedagen oil fields were discussed, MOFA reported. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) During a January 7 visit to Tehran, MOFA Director General for Middle Eastern and African Affairs Norihiro Okuda met separately with Senior Advisor to the Supreme National Security Council Hossein Mousavian, MOFA Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Nematollah Izadi, and Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific and the Commonwealth of Independent States Mehdi Safari, according to Second Middle East Division Iran Unit Chief Takashi Kamada. Kamada told Embassy Tokyo Political Officer January 11 that Okuda decided to stop in Tehran on his way to attend a meeting in Turkey. It was Okuda's first visit to the Middle East region since being named Director General last summer. A major goal of his visit was to signal to Iran that while Japan supports the international calls for Iran to cease its enrichment activities, it does not wish to see Iran isolated. ¶3. (C) Discussion at the meetings with Mousavian and Safari was restricted to the nuclear issue, with Okuda urging the Iranians to take seriously the will of the international community as expressed in UNSCR 1737, Kamada explained. Okuda pointed out that the resolution was passed unanimously, and that Iran should abide by its provisions, stop all enrichment related activities, and negotiate in good faith with the EU Three plus U.S. The Iranians replied that they cannot accept the resolution as it is purely political in nature, and repeated that Iran has the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. They urged Japan to view the situation more from the Iranian perspective. Okuda responded that Japan wishes to maintain friendly bilateral relations, but Iran must respect the will of the international community. ¶4. (C) The meeting with Okuda's counterpart Izadi was a bit more wide-ranging. With regard to Iraq, Izadi told Okuda that the major source of instability in the country is the presence of U.S. troops, pointing out (disingenuously) that the Kurdish and southern areas of the country - where U.S. troops are not present in significant numbers - are peaceful. He maintained that the Iraqis are grateful for Iranian assistance in bringing stability to their country and that the U.S. needs Iranian help but cannot ask for it. ¶5. (C) On the Middle East Peace Process in general, Okuda expressed concern about the recent Holocaust conference Iran hosted, and about inflammatory remarks about Israel made in speeches by President Ahmadinejad. He pointed out that such speeches are not constructive to achieving peace in the region and only serve to exacerbate Iran's problems with the international community. When Okuda asked Izadi for his thoughts on President Ahmadinejad's speeches and actions, Izadi simply laughed and replied "no comment." Okuda and Izadi also discussed the possibility of resuming in spring biannual Deputy Minister meetings in the spring. The last such meeting took place in December 2005. A meeting planned for August 2006 fell through. They also discussed the possibility of holding a Directors General consultation sometime in the spring. ¶6. (C) Kamada told Political Officer that no other issues, such as Lebanon or the Azedagen oil fields, were discussed, although the Iranians did express an interest in preserving and expanding existing economic ties. -------------- BIO INFO -------------- ¶7. (C) Kamada furnished the following bio information for Director General Izadi, who he characterized as a career diplomat. Nematollah Izadi was born on August 11, 1957 and received a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in International Relations from Tehran University. His senior appointments have include Director General for East Europe (1989-1990),Ambassador to the Soviet Federation and Russia (1990-1994),Advisor to the Foreign Minister (1994-1998),Ambassador to Oman (1998-2002), Assistant to the Vice Minister for Europe and the Americas TOKYO 00000124 002 OF 002 (2002-2005),and Director General for East Asia and Oceanian since 2005. He is married and has one son and one daughter. DONOVAN