IRAN SEEKS FRIENDS IN MADAGASCAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANTANANARIVO 000748

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/E - MBEYZEROV
PARIS FOR RKANEDA
LONDON FOR PLORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2018
TAGS: IR MA PINR PREL
SUBJECT: IRAN SEEKS FRIENDS IN MADAGASCAR

Classified By: AMBASSADOR NIELS MARQUARDT FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a November 4 meeting with Ambassador
Marquardt, Moroccan Ambassador Mohammed Amar gave a detailed
read-out of the recent visit of Iranian Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and Special Envoy of the President, Hossain
Sheikholislam. After meeting with the Malagasy Prime
Minister, Sheikholislam convened a dinner party on November 3
of ambassadors from Islamic African states, sharing not only
his offer of support for the African Union summit in
July/August 2009, but also his views on Madagascar's
relationship with the West, the current and future American
administrations, Iran's regional leadership, and a host of
other issues. Traditionally somewhat suspicious of Islam
(and particularly Iran, which maintains an embassy here),
Madagascar responded non-commitally to the Iranian offer.
Amar's take was clear, however: an overconfident Iran is
seeking to impress its African contacts, but has failed to
convey a convincing argument for their stark view of global
affairs to an already skeptical African and Arab audience.
END SUMMARY.

IRAN IN A NUTSHELL, OVER DINNER
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2. (C) Sheikholislam's visit received little publicity, and
details of the offer for AU Summit support have not been made
public. Press reports noted that Sheikholislam pushed for
strengthened ties between the two countries, invited
President Ravalomanana to visit Tehran in the near future,
and brought up the possibility of future cooperation on an
oil project in Madagascar. Before departing, however, he
gathered the Ambassadors of Morocco, Senegal, Algeria,
Comoros, Mauritius, and Libya -- as well as Iran's own
resident envoy -- for a frank, four-hour dinner discussion of
Iran's ambitious plans. According to Ambassador Amar of
Morocco (a close embassy friend with a proven track record of
providing us a window into the activities here of other
Islamic players),Sheikholislam expressed Iranian pleasure
with Madagascar's "attitude towards the West", focusing on
their occasionally tenuous relationship with France (e.g.
expelling the French ambassador last summer). Amar noted
that Sheikholislam's discourse was delivered with an arrogant
confidence determined to portray Iran as a regional
powerhouse with global influence, but failed to inspire much
comment or enthusiasm among the invitees.


3. (C) On the current state of affairs in the Middle East,
Sheikholislam asserted that the current U.S. administration
"did more for Iran than they could have ever done on their
own", in deposing Saddam Hussein (and favoring Shiites),
taking on the Taliban (historically enemies of Iran),and
"showing the world the true face of the United States
abroad". Convinced that the world now understands what the
U.S. truly stands for, he believes that Muslims all over the
world should side with Iran, and that in fact a debt of
gratitude was owed to the U.S. administration, for "it will
take generations to erase what they've done".


4. (C) Per Amar, Sheikholislam stated that Iran has never
been more powerful, nor the Shia community in the region more
influential. Covering a broad spectrum of issues, with
little prompting from his audience, Sheikholislam said that
no country in the world will ever stop Iran from pursing its
nuclear program, that Iran would supply weapons to Hamas if
they were to ask, and that the best tools for dealing with
Israel are "time and violence". He insisted upon Iran's
ability to consistently influence elections in both Israel
and the U.S. (by publicly supporting their desired
candidate's opponent),and predicted that an Obama
presidency, although more prepared to negotiate, will
nonetheless seek "economic advantages" in the region.

MORE ROYAL THAN THE KING
--------------


5. (C) Much of the audience allegedly remained mute
throughout this "exchange", but two points in particular left
the Moroccan Ambassador uncomfortable: Iranian support for
Algeria, and Sheikholislam's push for "Muslim solidarity" on
problems that Morocco is more inclined to see as "Arab"
issues, particularly the future of Palestine. On Algeria,
Sheikholislam reiterated Iran's unqualified support for
"whatever they may need". Given the Moroccan/Algerian border
dispute, and mutual fears of terrorist support in the others'

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backyard, Amar was not reassured by Sheikholisam's further
suggestion that Morocco's desire for negotiated solutions in
conflicts like Palestine is more due to the Morocco's
royalist preference for stability over change. Amar, and the
Moroccan government, seek a two-state solution and find
Iranian meddling in this "Arab issue" troublesome; why, he
said he asked, are the Iranians trying to be "more
Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves" by pouring gas
on the fire?

WRONG PLACE, WRONG AUDIENCE
--------------


6. (C) COMMENT: In the scope of his commentary, and the odd
choice of his audience, Sheikholislam seems to have missed
his mark. The Muslim community in Madagascar is small,
diverse, and somewhat disenfranchised. Amar said that Iran's
Ambassador to Madagascar, Homatash Abdoul Rahim, spent the
dinner rephrasing his Minister's commentary into the
third-person: "The Minister says..." rather than "I -- or we
-- believe...", perhaps indicating his discomfort with the
message that superseded any Farsi/French translation
difficulties.


7. (C) Despite occasional tensions with France, Iran seems to
have misread Madagascar's relationship with the West. The
press reported here that the envoy invited Ravalomanana to
visit Iran, and Ambassador Amar said that the Iranian
minister said that the President of Iran plans to attend the
2009 AU Summit here; both seem unlikely to us. Indeed, it is
clear to us that Madagascar has no desire for strengthened
ties with Iran, and merely tolerates their presence. This
attempt to rally African Muslim contacts came off as clumsy,
and Iran will have its work cut out to promote Muslim ties
over Malagasy, African, or even Arab relationships. END
COMMENT.
MARQUARDT