ADDITIONAL E.O. 13382 DESIGNATIONS OF IRANIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 000799 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN, T, EUR, EAP, NEA, TREASURY PASS TO AMIT SHARMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2017 TAGS: KNNP PARM PREL KN IR JA SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL E.O. 13382 DESIGNATIONS OF IRANIAN ENTITIES: FOREIGN MINISTER ASO CALLS ON IRANIAN COUNTERPART TO COMPLY WITH UNSCR REF: SECSTATE 19366 Classified By: CDA JOE DONOVAN FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D ¶1. (SBU) Embassy officers delivered reftel demarche to counterparts in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Finance (MOF). MOF officials stated they were already aware of reftel designations from their regular monitoring of Treasury,s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website. ¶2. (C) Embassy also notes Japan imposed its own SANCTIONS on Iran in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1737 on February 16 and that, according to MOFA, Foreign Minister Aso told Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki that Iran must comply with UNSCR 1737. Mr. Takeshi Kamada of MOFA's Second Middle East Division told Embassy Tokyo Political Officer that in a 40 minute telephone conversation on February 19, Aso told Mottaki it is regrettable that Iran has not yet taken any steps to comply with UNSCR 1737. According to Kamada, the call was initiated by Mottaki, who discussed bilateral and regional issues but for the most part avoided the nuclear issue. The only thing Mottaki initially had to say about Iran's nuclear program is that Iran has the right to develop nuclear power and that negotiations with Javier Solana would continue. Kamada said that Aso responded by telling Mottaki that Iran must take positive steps to help bring stability to the Middle East region. He explained the sanctions Japan had just imposed on Iran, stressed that Tehran must take steps to comply with UNSCR 1737, and said it is regrettable that Iran has not yet taken any actions to comply with the will of the international community. Aso continued that Japan does not question Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power, but that confidence building steps on Iran's part are required given Tehran's long history of secrecy regarding its nuclear program. He called upon Iran to suspend its enrichment activities and to comply fully with UNSCR 1737. Mottaki did not directly address the subject of Japanese SANCTIONS against Iran, but replied that Iran does not recognize the authority of the United Nations Security Council to address the issue of its nuclear program. DONOVAN