IRANIAN COMPANY EFFORTS TO PROCURE STEEL FROM

S E C R E T PRETORIA 001618 DEPT FOR AF/S, ISN/MTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2018 TAGS: PARM PREL MTCRE SF IR SUBJECT: IRANIAN COMPANY EFFORTS TO PROCURE STEEL FROM SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY REF: STATE 67405 Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond L. Brown for Reas ons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1.(C) On July 9, PolCouns delivered reftel demarche to DFA DepDir M. Combrink (Non-Proliferation) who thanked us for the notification, and said the SAG appreciates early information on these matters. He said the SAG has two distinct approaches to this type of USG notification that determines their range of action. First, if it is solely a matter of a U.S. bilateral sanction or policy, the SAG has no legal basis for intervening in the activities of local companies that are not engaged in illegal activity based on domestic law. However, if it is a matter of multilateral policy/sanctions/agreements/resolutions, the SAG does have a basis and obligation for such intervention. SAG officials usually contact the South African company in question whenever a notification indicates a possible policy or legal conflict. The SAG then advises the local company that they are on the U.S. or international "radar screen" and their activities are no no longer confidential. 2.(C) That said, the SAG advises the local firm that their business decisions/activities with Iranian and other targeted enterprises could negatively affect their business interests. When it is a matter of multilateral policy/agreements/resolution, the SAG has more leverage to terminate objectionable business activity n by local firms within their jurisdiction. In this specific case, Combrink personally made contact with the firm, in conjunction with a counterpart from the SAG Department of Trade and Industry, to let the national firm know they had received our notification and encouraged them to take into consideration the international context of their business activity in light of bilateral and multilateral action based on non-proliferation concerns related to Iran. BOST NNNN End Cable Text