DEMARCHE ON UNSCR 1803 IRISL CARGO INSPECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 000684 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN, T, IO, INR, NEA, AND EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2018 TAGS: KNNP PARM PREL ETRD AS SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON UNSCR 1803 IRISL CARGO INSPECTION DELIVERED TO AUSTRALIA REF: A. STATE 69339 ¶B. CANBERRA 671 Classified By: Political Counselor James F. Cole. Reasons: 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (C) During Acting Assistant Secretary's June 30 nonproliferation consultations in Canberra (ref B),she raised the importance of robust implementation of the inspection provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1803 (ref A),including cargos of aircraft and vessels of Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL), during a interagency roundtable chaired by Jennifer Rawson, First Assistant Secretary for International Security, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. ¶2. (C) Immediately following AA/S McNerney's visit, poloff presented ref A demarche in fuller detail to Gerry McGuire, Acting Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation; Adam McCarthy, Assistant Secretary for International Legal Affairs; and Justin Whyatt, Director for the Middle East. ¶3. (C) McCarthy told us July 3 that GOA views on the UNSCR 1803 inspection requirement accorded with those of the U.S., and anticipated Australia would have no problem with robust implementation of the provision. ¶4. (C) Responding to our request for the status of the GOA designation of three Iranian financial institutions, McCarthy said a decision had not yet been made on designating any of the banks. Australia lacked the more flexible executive agreement mechanism enjoyed by the United States, he explained, so DFAT was seeking to fashion a case for sanctions outside those specifically encompassed in UNSCRs. DFAT was tasking its missions in Washington and Brussels to seek additional, classified background from the USG and the EU with which to provide a background and recommendations for ministers to take impose sanctions against financial institutions. CLUNE