IRAN: UK MAY DE-LIST MEK BY EARLY JULY BUT WILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 001593 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2018 TAGS: PREL ETTC PTER IR UK SUBJECT: IRAN: UK MAY DE-LIST MEK BY EARLY JULY BUT WILL OBSERVE ALL PARLIAMENTARY STEPS REF: LONDON 1468 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. The UK's domestic de-listing of the Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK) may occur as soon as early July or even late June, Foreign and Commonwealth contacts told London Iran Watcher (Poloff) June 6, moving up their earlier estimates (ref) by two to three weeks as to when Parliament is likely to act. End summary. Timing in Brussels Driven By Parliament's Action -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) FCO now believes the amendment to de-list the MEK domestically will clear the House of Commons during the last week of June, and it will then take "only a few days," likely during the first week of July, to clear the House of Lords. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Iran Coordination Group Bilateral Team's Helen Teasdale and Margaret Tongue hoped "the EU process could slip a few days" to accommodate UK domestic requirements. Teasdale told Poloff that HMG had, due to the imminent timetable for the EU's separate de-listing (or extension to December) of the MEK, discussed the possibility of supporting EU de-listing in Brussels, after the Commons had acted on the domestic de-listing of the group but before the House of Lords' final action. Reportedly, however, HMG discarded such an approach, because it created an unacceptable risk of a backlash from the House of Lords, if it became known HMG was acting before the Lords had acted and Whitehall appeared to be publicly taking the Lords for granted. ¶3. (C) Teasdale made it clear HMG wants to avoid any appearance that it is evading or delaying implementation of the UK Court of Appeals' order to remove the MEK from the UK's domestic list of terrorist groups. She was unwilling to discuss specific positions, tactics or timing which HMG representatives in Brussels might adopt, but suggested that any scenario which had the effect of extending until December the EU listing, now set to expire in June, might be portrayed by some in the UK as obstruction by HMG of the effect of the Court's order. Teasdale added that HMG is very aware of the pendency in EU courts of a MEK petition against the EU listing, and HMG wants to avoid having to again revisit an issue upon which HMG lawyers now have no confidence they can prevail. Tensions with Iran: Under Control -------------- ¶4. (C) Teasdale said that in Tehran there had been multiple recent IRI expressions of concern about the de-listing, including at least one demonstration -- a peaceful march by mothers of victims of MEK attacks in front of the UK Embassy. The IRI's primary bilateral concern at the moment appears to be the pending extradition of former Iranian Ambassador Tajik from the UK to the U.S. Teasdale said that the IRI appears to now accept, in a limited way, HMG arguments that the independence of the UK judiciary limits HMG's ability to resist de-listing of the MEK, but Tehran still believes HMG both supports the MEK and views its de-listing as a positive development. Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom TUTTLE