MFA MINSTATE VIEWS ON IRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000190 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNSC IAEA IR AE SUBJECT: MFA MINSTATE VIEWS ON IRAN STATE 13345 Classified by CDA Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The Charge took the opportunity of a February 10 meeting with UAE Minster of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Hussain al-Sha'ali to emphasize the importance of keeping pressure on Iran through UNSC deliberations on potential sanctions, also noting the USG stance not to comment extensively on Iran's elections in advance of the vote. Al-Sha'ali agreed that avoiding much public comment was well advised, and stated that elections will not likely change the political dynamic in Iran; the situation could stagnate until "something happens" (presumably a strategically significant event inside or outside of Iran that impacts on the leadership equation). ¶2. (C) The MinState was very interested in the status of U.S. discussions with Iran in the context of Iraqi security. Worried about Tehran's influence in Baghdad, he asked: "Do they [the Iranians] feel they have the upper hand in Iraq?" He pressed for a U.S. assessment as to whether our talks with Iran actually brought the violence down, but when pressed for his view of the same question he said with a smile, "we don't talk to them about that." Iran is "historically tough" in negotiations and "very evasive," he added, and usually tries your patience rather than proactively helping to resolve issues on the table. ¶3. (C) Al-Sha'ali offered his view that the Iranians are willing to "pay the price" of enduring sanctions rather than work to avoid them. The more they are pressed, the more they resist, particularly when they feel their national identity being threatened. In this sense they are somewhat like Israel, he quipped, always taking a firm nationalistic stance. ¶4. (C) The current Iranian regime has cut its relations with many countries, noted the MinState, including the limited trade and cultural ties it once enjoyed. Tehran did this to cut its people off from the outside world so that it could exert more control by fencing out the neighbors, he suggested. (Comment: He did not refer to the robust trading ties between the UAE and Iran, however. End comment.) Iran is still controlled by fundamentalists, said al-Sha'ali, and its current president is simply a tool in their hands. QUINN