IRAN PUSHES INTO LEBANESE DEMINING OPERATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000971 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO A/S EBRIMMER P FOR AWELLS/RWALLER DRL/NESA FOR JBARGHOUT PARIS FOR DNOBLES USUN FOR AWOLFF/EGERMAIN/ASCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR DSHAPIRO/MMCDERMOTT DOD/OSD FOR FLOURNOY/KAHL/DALTON OVP FOR HMUSTAFA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MOPS MCAP PM IS LE IR SUBJECT: IRAN PUSHES INTO LEBANESE DEMINING OPERATIONS Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The demining NGO Mine Advisory Group (MAG) has confirmed the launch of a new Iranian demining NGO in south Lebanon. The Iranian NGO Peace Generation Organization for Demining (PGOD) is starting with a small presence. In addition, MAG director Christina Bennike reaffirmed that some of her MAG staff were solicited by Hizballah to work on demining operations. Lebanese Mine Action Center (LMAC) director Brigadier General Mohammad Fehmi separately confirmed that LMAC was offered donations by Iranians for demining and victims assistance, but he claimed to have refused the offer because the grants would come with "Hizballah tied to them." MAG and LMAC also disparaged Israeli strike data from the June 2006 war as being too vague to be useful. UNIFIL, however, was more positive about the value of the data and about the importance of the Israeli gesture. With demining funds growing tighter, the door looks open to all comers. End summary. IRAN JOINS DEMINING EFFORT -------------- ¶2. (C) MAG's Bennike confirmed press reports of the launch of a new Iranian demining NGO in LMAC's south Lebanon area of operations. The NGO PGOD, which is reportedly funded by an Iranian foundation and assisted by the Iranian company Ayman Sazan, is focusing on the south Lebanese villages of Zawtar al-Sharquiya and Qabrikha, according to newspapers. Bennike reported that PGOD was accredited by the LMAC on August 20 and has fielded three teams of 10-12 deminers, as compared to the eight to ten teams that MAG heads as the largest demining NGO in Lebanon. Bennike repeated her comments from last May that some of her MAG staff were solicited by Hizballah to work on demining operations. (Note: Bennike is very hesitant to speak about Hizballah due to safety concerns. Although she has not received any personal threats, she lives in Tyre and works in Nabeytieh and was advised by an LMAC officer last May to keep references to Hizballah quiet. End note.) �A; ¶3. (C) LMAC director BG Fehmi, who spoke at the launching of PGOD on August 20, separately told poloff that the new NGO has signed a work agreement with LMAC, the controlling authority for demining operations in Lebanon. He also confirmed that LMAC had been offered unspecified donations by other Iranians for demining and victims assistance. BG Fehmi claimed to refuse any Iranian offers because they would come with "Hizballah tied to them." Contrary to rumors that LMAC was considering an Iranian as director of its Mine Victims Assistance Program, BG Fehmi insisted that the position would be filled by a Lebanese. DEMINING OPERATORS DISPARAGE ISRAELI STRIKE DATA -------------- ¶4. (C) Both Bennike and Fehmi advised poloff that the strike data provided by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in May 2009 to UNIFIL and passed along to NGOs in the field had not improved the pace or quality of demining operations. Fehmi described the data as "useless," especially after the deaths of 45 persons (many of them children) and three years of clearing minefields while the IDF refused to release the information. He also cast doubt on Israeli claims of ignorance regarding the type and quantity of munitions used in artillery and aerial bombardment, given the sophistication of Israel's armed forces and weapons. "How could the IDF not know; they are not a militia," Fehmi remarked. Although the LMAC knew most of the strike locations before the Israelis shared their records, Fehmi reported, the LMAC found 51 confirmed contaminated sites that do not appear on the "fire dispersion" data spreadsheet and 289 locations that lack the BEIRUT 00000971 002 OF 002 direction or altitude used by the aircraft that dropped the munitions, making pinpointing munitions dispersion impossible. ¶5. (C) Bennike assessed that MAG operations, which are largely funded by PM/WRA, were not materially affected by the release of the data. MAG's Technical Field Manager Jeffrey Caldwell told poloff that even though the data had confirmed areas already known to have been infested with cluster bombs, it is not detailed enough to facilitate a quicker day-to-day pace. New UNIFIL Chief of Staff BG Vincent Lafontaine evinced a more positive attitude to the strike data, however, affirming that the maps were in fact useful and a positive Israeli gesture that UNIFIL appreciates. (Note: UNIFIL leads the Tripartite talks between the IDF and Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on UNSCR 1701 issues and has pressed the IDF for years to hand over strike data. The data turnover is one of few success stories from the Tripartite talks. End note.) For his part, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon PolOff Rami Shehadeh criticized demining NGOs and accused them of not making a serious effort to use the data since May. "The Israelis have given a lot, more than they had to give. We just need to put an end to this issue," he explained to us. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) The LMAC cannot turn down demining assistance from Iranian-affiliated NGOs while the Lebanese Armed Forces is trying to build up its reputation for social support and services in the south. Even more, with demining funds growing tighter, MAG, like other international NGOs, is slashing staff as it awaits $1.5 million in PM/WRA money still pending congressional notification. In such a funding environment, the door is open to all comers. SISON