SENIOR OMANI DELEGATION VISIT TO TEHRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000297 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018 TAGS: PREL ENRG IR MU SUBJECT: SENIOR OMANI DELEGATION VISIT TO TEHRAN Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (U) A delegation of Omani officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmud al-Sa'id, arrived in Tehran on April 20 for a three-day official visit to Iran. According to the Oman News Agency, the delegation included Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Sa'id (Minister of Heritage and Culture),Yusef bin Alawi (Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs),Maqbul bin Ali bin Sultan (Minister of Commerce an Industry),Mohammed bin Hamad al-Ruhmi (Minister of Oil and Gas),Hamad al-Rashdi (Minister of Information) and "other senior and private sector officials." Omani local press on April 21 provided prominent coverage of the delegation's trip, which it claimed was at the invitation of Iranian First Deputy President Parvez Dawoodi. ¶2. (C) During a meeting the previous week, Minister bin Alawi told the Ambassador that the delegation was being sent to Tehran largely in response to the visit of Iranian President Ahmadinejad to Muscat in May 2007. As Sultan Qaboos was not interested in traveling himself but could not ignore or forever defer invitations from Tehran, he instead dispatched Sayyid Fahd (who normally represents the Sultan at events outside the country) in his place. In a separate meeting with the Ambassador, Minister Maqbool acknowledged that he and Minister Ruhmi planned to discuss further Oman's interest in purchasing "desperately needed" gas from Iran. A prominent American contact in the oil industry told econoff on April 21, however, that Ruhmi had told him that his trip to Tehran would likely be a "waste of my time" since Oman and Iran "might never agree" on a price for gas. ¶3. (C) Comment: Given past experience, the Iranian press and government will likely trumpet that Omani delegation's visit and make exaggerated, if not false, claims about what was agreed to in bilateral meetings. The Ambassador will attempt to follow-up with bin Alawi and Ruhmi upon their return to Muscat to gain further information on what occurred in Tehran. End Comment. GRAPPO