ITALY ALERT TO IRANIAN EFFORTS TO PROCURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000744 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CPI CAROLINE RUSSELL DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/RA RICHARD NEPHEW E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2023 TAGS: KNNP TRGY PREL PARM MNUC AORC IAEA UNSC IR IT SUBJECT: ITALY ALERT TO IRANIAN EFFORTS TO PROCURE TECHNOLOGY FOR IR-2 CENTRIFUGE PROGRAM REF: A. SECSTATE 52030 ¶B. ROME 197 Classified By: Economic Counselor William Meara for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Econoff delivered Ref A points on critical equipment needs for Iran's IR-2 centrifuge design to Roberto Liotto, the Italian MFA official responsible for export controls and Italian participation in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on May 22. Liotto said he would pass the nonpaper to the GOI interagency committee responsible for adjudicating export license applications, the Italian Customs Service, and the Intelligence Community. Liotto said the GOI is subjecting license applications for exports to the Gulf region to higher scrutiny, and said all license applications for "sensitive technologies" such as those listed in the NSG Annexes are being referred to an inter-agency group for additional review. ¶2. (C) Liotto argued that insofar as Iran is concerned, Italian and EU export control regulations have stayed one step ahead of UN Security Council Resolutions. Under current EU and Italian regulations, the export to Iran of goods listed in the NSG Annexes is prohibited. "Sensitive" goods not included in the NSG Annexes are subject to review on a case-by-case basis. When Econoff drew Liotto's attention to Ref A request that the export of sensitive goods to Iran be handled with a "strong presumption of denial," Liotto noted documentation for these exports is already subject to additional scrutiny. He added that the GOI is denying an increasing number applications to export goods not listed in the NSG Annexes to the Middle East. SPOGLI