HOW IRAN BUILDS INFLUENCE: CULTURE HOUSE AND RED

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000139 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2019 TAGS: PREL KISL EAID LE IZ AJ IR SUBJECT: HOW IRAN BUILDS INFLUENCE: CULTURE HOUSE AND RED CRESCENT REF: A. A) BAKU 132 ¶B. B) 2008 BAKU 1069 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: POLECON CHIEF ROB GARVERICK, REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (S) In addition to operating generous micro-loan and financial grant programs (Ref A),Iran builds its influence in Azerbaijan through overlapping ideological proselytizing, recruiting, network-building. and humanitarian assistance programs operating out of the Iranian Cultural House, Iranian-subsidized mosques and clerics, and Iranian Red Crescent-subsidized clinics and doctors. Religious indoctrination, recruitment, and subsidies to followers and sympathetic clerics is reportedly overseen by a son-in-law of the late Ayatollah Meshkini, who doubles as the Imam of the major Iranian mosque. All these activities and institutions complement and strengthen each other in creating good will and reducing political and cultural orientation towards the West. They are also creating and bolstering networks of provincial Hajjis and other notables who gain economic benefits and personal prestige by virtue of their cooperation with Iranians and their access to Iranian funds. End Summary. ¶2. (S) This the second in a two-part series on Iranian outreach methodologies used in Azerbaijan (and potentially elsewhere) to gather intelligence and build influence among the general population. Part One discussed broad-based micro-loans and financial grants; this cable focuses on proselytizing and networking activities of the Baku-based "Iranian Culture House," the so-called "Iranian Mosque," and other loosely related entities. This cable also describes the "third prong" of Iranian influence-building, centered on Iranian Red Crescent-subsidized doctors and clinics. Iranian Culture House: Hard-Line Nerve Center -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Iranian Culture House in Baku is a GOI-sponsored organization for promoting Iranian language and culture. It is officially independent of the Iranian Embassy here, but works closely with it. It hosts cultural events, maintains a library, and offers free Persian language instruction. In these capacities, it is roughly equivalent to the British Council. ¶4. (S) According to Iranian and Azerbaijani sources, the Culture House also doubles as a nerve center for promoting "hard-line" Iranian Shi'ism: selecting candidates for religious scholarships in Qom and for other scholarships in Iran, and networking with and disbursing subsidies to conservative Azerbaijani "alumni" from Qom. An important Iran Culture House activity is providing financial or material "gifts" and/or job placement for members of provincial families and clerics recommended by established "Iranophiles" (i.e., individuals who for reasons of personal conviction, self-interest, or convenience have formed close relationships with Iranian entities). Iranophiles also cooperate with the Culture House in such activities as placement of Iranophile clerics in provincial mosques; organizing of all-expenses paid trips to Iran for selected Azerbaijanis, and ideological workshops and regional Koranic study sessions for Islamic youth. Ideological/Religious Proselytization -------------- ¶5. (S) The leadership of the Iranian-funded Husseiniya mosque in Baku (aka the "Iranian mosque") works closely with the Iranian Culture House and provides a venue for "hard-line" ideological training and preaching. The Imam of the Husseiniya mosque, Mullah Ojaghnejad, is the son-in-law of the late Ayatollah Ali Meshkini (former Chairman of the Assembly of Experts). Ojaghnejad formerly worked for Ayatollah Khameini in Teheran, and serves as Khameini's personal religious representative in Azerbaijan. He reportedly coordinates with the Iranian Culture house in directing financial stipends/"gifts" to Azerbaijani clerics who studied in Iran and needy families of Azerbaijani students currently studying there. ¶6. (S) An Iranian and an Azerbaijani student separately described the Husseiniya mosque as a venue for Iranophiles networking with young Azerbaijani's attracted by its reputation for facilitating contacts with "higher-status" Azerbaijanis and offering opportunities for "all expenses paid" pilgrimages to Mashad. (Note: recent information obtained by Iran watcher suggests that the Iranian financial loans and grants discussed in ref A and above are being disbursed to recipients without the use of banks (septel). End Note). A young Azerbaijani contact who recently visited the mosque with a regular attendee saw an acquaintance there who told him about occasional "interesting" evening study sessions, with the implication that he should attend. Iranian Red Crescent: Medical Outreach -------------- ¶7. (S) The Iranian Red Crescent directly or indirectly supports several medical clinics in Azerbaijan, including an official "Red Crescent Hospital" located near the Iranian Culture house. The medical clinics provided low cost medical care and medications to Iranian residents in Baku and free medical care to needy Azerbaijanis. Empowering Iranophiles -------------- ¶8. (S) An Iranian medical school student in Baku told Iran watcher that she frequently visits the clinic as it provides free laboratory and instrument access for registered local Iranian medical students. Apart from some needy walk-ins, she said that the Red Crescent clinic takes many cases referred to it by Iranophile figures in Baku and the provinces. She said that the clinic arranges low or no cost medical treatment and surgery in Iran for serious cases, including housing in Iran if needed for accompanying family members. She added that the Red Crescent Clinic in Baku maintains a list of "approved" doctors elsewhere in Azerbaijan to whom patients may be referred, with costs partially or fully covered by the Red Crescent. Intelligence Positioning and Network-Building -------------- ¶9. (S) Reiterating claims we have heard from other sources, the student said that the Red Crescent includes a number of Iranian intelligence officers (including some she believes are monitoring Iranian students). She asserted that Red Crescent staff actively identify and cultivate ties with potentially Iranophile or "pious" Azerbaijanis, some of whom are approached about study opportunities and/or pilgrimage assistance. Comment -------------- ¶10. (S) The above institutions and the Ref A financial programs fill vacuums in Azerbaijani society and contribute in a variety of ways to enhancing Iran's image among rural and poorer urban populations in Azerbaijan. They also promote soft intelligence gathering, promote creation of "Iranophiles," and buttress religious conservatism in ways that seek to move Azerbaijan away from the West. These efforts further complement and bolster each other by facilitating the creation of networks of Hajjis and other notables in the provinces who receive economic benefits and local prestige via their associations with Iranians and their ability to obtain Iranian benefits (medical care, scholarships, loans, etc.) for others. End Comment. DERSE