AUSTRIAN VIEWS ON IRAN AT 10/15 GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 002602 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2022 TAGS: PREL PGOV KNNP IR EUN AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN VIEWS ON IRAN AT 10/15 GAERC REF: (A) STATE 143223 (B) EUR DAR 10/10 (C) VIENNA 2596 (D) VIENNA 2578 (E) STATE 141316 Classified By: CDA Scott Kilner. Reason: 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Austrian MFA European Correspondent Andreas Riecken reported to Econ/Pol Couns Oct. 11 that Austria will reluctantly support the draft conclusions on Iran drawn up by the French, British and Germans and endorsed by HighRep Solana. He also reported that he expects the entire Council to endorse the conclusions. Riecken confirmed as well the account contained in Ref A, paras 5-6 and Ref B on the development of the conclusions. ¶2. (C) As further background on the Austrian position, Riecken maintained that there was a fundamental difference between some states (read: France, Britain, perhaps others), on the one-hand, and Austria and many other states on the other. The latter group, claimed Riecken, sought to preserve international unity under the leadership of the Security Council and EU harmony as a necessary component of successful ESDP. Riecken further argued that it was important that the Iranian regime not be able to exploit the nuclear issue to strengthen its domestic hand by alleging a "Western" conspiracy. For these reasons Austria (and most other EU states, Riecken implied) had opposed drawing any conclusions - especially before the mid-November report on the Iran-IAEA work plan. Nonetheless, because the EU-3 and Solana had all agreed on the draft conclusions, Austria and the rest of the EU felt obligated to support the EU's designated representatives in the P5 2 process. Riecken also described the EU-3 plus Solana grouping as irregular and was clearly unhappy with it. ¶3. (C) Riecken, however, was not entirely unhappy with the outcome. He described the language of the conclusions, which does not mention "autonomous" EU sanctions, as a minimum outcome, and acceptable only because of that minimalism. ¶4. (C) In a separate conversation Oct. 11 with Charge, French DCM van Rossum corroborated the scenario described above. Van Rossum expressed cautious optimism: "Progress is not impossible, he said, "but it will take time." Kilner