UAE NERVOUS ABOUT IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000861 E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2018 TAGS: PREL AE IR SUBJECT: UAE NERVOUS ABOUT IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In a 30 August meeting Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash raised with Ambassador the status of the Iran Regional Presence Office (IRPO) in Dubai. He said that the UAEG was getting "a lot of flak" about the office, noting that IRPO's name had come out in the recent show trials in Tehran and subsequent press reporting. (He did no say explicitly who the flak throwers were, but clearly he was referring to the Iranian Government.) ¶2. (C) He said the USG needed to be careful about IRPO "statements," and cautioned against having Dubai appear as a backdrop for any media interviews. Ambassador pointed out that there were no IRPO "statements" or media outreach. Ambassador pointed out that IRPO's only public diplomacy activities consisted of facilitating exchanges and reassured Gargash that IRPO's instructions were to maintain a low public profile. Gargash expressed appreciation for the assurance and said that a low key approach was important, because the debate in Iran was an internal matter, and the UAEG thought that US efforts to stay out of it, and not become the scapegoat, were the correct policy. ¶3. (C) Comment: The tone of the conversation was cordial, but the message was clear that the UAEG is worried about the reaction of its big neighbor to our Iran-watching office in Dubai. This inquiry was a more pointed version of an inquiry from Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaykh Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ),who asked about the status of IRPO during the course of the visit of A/S Vershbow and A/S Shapiro in July. OLSON