IAEA/IRAN: STATUS OF NORWEGIAN IMPLEMENTATION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000543 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/RA, IO/T E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2018 TAGS: KNNP MNUC IR PARM IAEA TRGY UNSC PREL SUBJECT: IAEA/IRAN: STATUS OF NORWEGIAN IMPLEMENTATION OF IAEA-SPONSORED SAFETY TRAINING FOR BUSHEHR REACTOR REF: STATE 84938 Classified By: Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) At the request of the Norwegians, Mission Officers (MsnOffs) met with Erling Skjonsberg, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Section for Disarmament and Non-proliferation on Saturday, October 4 on the margins of the IAEA General Conference. Skjonsberg sought the meeting to provide an update on Norwegian plans for implementing the ref IAEA-sponsored safety/regulatory training for prospective Iranian reactor operators/regulators at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. ¶2. (SBU) Skjonsberg said the IAEA is currently screening internally the project paperwork to ensure the activities to be undertaken are consistent with UNSC Resolution 1737 requirements. Skjonsberg said this safety training project is self-generated by the IAEA (vice an Iranian- or Norwegian-initiated request) to help address shortcomings the IAEA perceived in Iranian safety-readiness. Norway has heard from the IAEA that in the wake of tentative IAEA/Norwegian agreement to provide this training, their Iranian interlocutors are showing more cooperation in safety-related interactions with the Agency. Norway wants Iran to sign and ratify the international nuclear safety convention and will use interactions associated with the project to press that point. ¶3. (SBU) Regarding the U.S. request that Norway brief the UNSC Iran Sanctions Committee, in part to set a precedent we hope others follow regarding transparency on all IAEA-sponsored activities with Iran, Skjonsberg said Norway is fully supportive. He said the letter from Norway to the Sanctions Committee requesting that the Norwegian briefing be added to the Committee agenda was to have been sent Friday, Oct. 3. Norway is requesting to brief the Committee at its October 15 meeting. ¶4. (C) Skjonsberg asked whether the United States had already reached out to other states, per ref U.S. pledge to encourage select states to help Norway with "on-the-job training" for the Iranians. MsnOffs said we would have to check on the status of U.S. outreach on that front, and suggested that we probably would follow-up with other states as needed immediately after the Norwegian briefing to the Sanctions Committee. Skjonesberg said Norway thought Bulgaria, Finland, and Hungary were the best candidates. Finally, he also confirmed that Norway has received the names of "about 20" Iranians that will be sent first to either Norway or Vienna for classroom work in advance of the hands-on reactor training. (Comment: Skjonesberg, who did not have the list of Iranians with him, agreed that MsnOffs could obtain the list either from the Norwegian Mission or the IAEA POC for the project, but requested that we keep in confidence our receipt of the list. Mission will forward the list as soon as available.) SCHULTE