INDIANS STATE IRANIAN PRESIDENT WILL NOT VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 003254

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PK IR IN
SUBJECT: INDIANS STATE IRANIAN PRESIDENT WILL NOT VISIT
DELHI

Classified By: POLCOUNS Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
has categorically denied the reported upcoming visit of
Iranian President Ahmedinejad to Delhi this week, while
Indian and Pakistani press continue to speculate on the
purpose of the rumored visit. End Summary.

Ahmedinejad,s Visit "A Total Rumor"
--------------


2. (C) In response to Indian and Pakistani press reporting
that Iranian President Ahmedinejad would visit Delhi this
week for talks with Indian leaders about the rising tensions
between India and Pakistan, MEA Joint Secretary
(Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran Division) T.C.A. Raghavan told
PolCouns December 30 that Ahmedinejad's upcoming visit was a
"total rumor", adding that "when the Indian government says
it does not want mediators, that applies to everyone".
(Comment: Raghavan was underscoring how India has rejected
past offers from Iran to mediate on Kashmir, and possibly
delivering a message that India does not want interference
from the United States either. End Comment.)


3. (SBU) Indian media, citing an article which appeared in
the Pakistani newspaper "International, The News", began to
widely report on Ahmedinejad's supposed upcoming visit this
week. The news was first picked up by the Pakistani channel
GEO TV and later covered by news-portal Sify.com. However,
MEA has not issued any announcements of the visit, and Post's
contacts consistently say they do not believe the visit will
happen this week.

Speculation on Iran's Role in Indo-Pak Conflict
-------------- --


4. (SBU) Ahmedinejad last visited India in April, and after
buzz of a possible visit to Delhi, the media this week began
to speculate on the purpose of such a visit at this juncture.
Post contacts believe that should an Ahmedinejad visit
materialize, it is likely the result of Tehran trying to
carve out a mediator role for itself in the aftermath of the
Mumbai terror attacks last month.


5. (C) Journalist Sandeep Dikshit of The Hindu was skeptical
that such a visit would take place at all, but suggested that
if Delhi were to host the Iranian President, it would likely
be to take advantage of Iran's influence in the region in
general and in the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in
particular. "India certainly needs Iran for pre-empting any
criticism of India's role in the region in case Pakistan were
to lobby among the OIC members for moral and material support
(against India) to cope with her moments of crisis" said
Dikshit. At a recent conference of the Indian Heads of
Mission, Indian envoys serving in Islamic countries were
urged to garner maximum support from those quarters where
Pakistan can lobby against India in the name of Islamic
solidarity, according to Dikshit.


6. (C) Amit Baruah, Foreign Affairs Editor of the capital's
most circulated news daily, The Hindustan Times, said a visit
by Ahmedinejad, if it materialized, would be designed to
create positive regional atmospherics. Baruah pointed out
that the ruling Congress party would like to send the "right"
signal to the Muslim electorate: that India equally cares for
Islamic world leaders as it does for the United States. The
visits of Egyptian and Turkish heads of states last month and
Saudi foreign minister last week can also be seen in the same
light, said Baruah. According to Professor P.R. Kumaraswamy
from the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru
University, such a visit would send the message that India is
cooperating with all Muslim countries.
MULFORD