IRANIANS RAISE SOFA AT IRAQ NEIGHBORS SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003012 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA-IR, NEA-I E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2013 TAGS: IR IZ JO PGOV PREL SUBJECT: IRANIANS RAISE SOFA AT IRAQ NEIGHBORS SECURITY CONFERENCE IN JORDAN Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) The fifth annual rotating conference of the Interior Ministers of Iraq's Neighboring Countries took place in Amman, October 23-24, with participation from the Ministers of Interior of Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran. The official closing statement called on states to fulfill security protocols with Iraq in an indirect reference to Turkey and Iran, which have yet to conclude formal bilateral agreements with Iraq, according to Jordanian Interior Ministry Secretary-General Mukhaimar al Mukhaimar during an October 29 meeting with EmbOffs. The statement also called on all Arab countries to "take necessary measures to prevent terrorism and enforce joint security cooperation" and stressed the importance of Iraq's unity and its Arab and Islamic identity. The sixth annual conference is set to take place in Cairo in October ¶2009. ¶2. (C) Mukhaimar and, separately, Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Saad Al-Hayani praised to Emboffs the level of participation at the conference, specifically mentioning the presence of Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister. Al-Hayani said Iran appeared to be operating "from a position of weakness" at this conference compared to earlier ones, mostly because of the strong presence of the Saudis. ¶3. (C) When asked if there had been any softening of Iran's position since earlier conferences, Mukhaimar responded in the negative, and said, "They are crazy; their brains don't work normally". During the main session, the Iranian minister tried to insert language critical of the United States and the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the United States, but Jordanian Interior Minister Eid Fayez deflected the comments, Mukhaimar said. Al-Hayani described how the Iranian delegation was later confronted by the Iraqi Minister of Interior who told them the Iraqi people would make their own decisions regarding their security interests; it was not for others to become involved. The Iranian minister brought the SOFA issue up again in bilateral discussions with Jordan but was again rebuffed on the matter, Mukhaimar said. ¶4. (SBU) Separately, other Iraqi Embassy officials mentioned to EmbOffs that the conference had had a major success on the exchange of prisoners, without providing substantive details. ¶5. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Baghdad. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Beecroft