IRANIANS TELL POLES THAT SITUATION OF DETAINED

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001428 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IR PHUM EUN PL SUBJECT: IRANIANS TELL POLES THAT SITUATION OF DETAINED AMCITS IS INTERNAL MATTER REF: A. STATE 80300 ¶B. WARSAW 1383 ¶C. SEAN MISKO E-MAIL TO EMBASSY WARSAW JUNE 19 Classified By: Mary T. Curtin, PolCouns, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) MFA Iraq Task Force Chief Juliusz Gojlo informed PolCouns June 21 that he had met the previous day with a counselor from the Iranian Embassy to inquire about the status of American citizens detained in Iran (Ref A) and to provide Iran our views on the "Irbil Five"--the Iranians detained in Iraq (Refs B and C). Gojlo said when he raised the case of the detained AmCits, his Iranian counterpart politely but firmly responded that, except for Mr. Levinson, all the detained are Iranian nationals, that it is an internal issue, and that no one can interfere in Iranian internal matters. As to Mr. Levinson, the Iranian counselor said he believed Mr. Levinson was already in the U.S., providing no further explanation. ¶2. (C) Gojlo said he also replied to the Iranians request for assistance regarding the Irbil Five, drawing on the talking points provided in Ref C. The Iranian Embassy counselor had no response but said there was no link between the two situations. Gojlo said he had the impression the Iranians will not press further on the Irbil Five, but may also not come back to the Poles with any further information on the missing American citizens. ASHE