TANZANIA AND IRAN SIGN DEFENSE MOU

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000060

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JLIDDLE, INR/RAA FEHRENREICH, ISN, NEA,
T

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019
TAGS: PARM PREL PGOV UNSC TZ IR
SUBJECT: TANZANIA AND IRAN SIGN DEFENSE MOU

REF: A. 2008 DAR ES SALAAM 849

B. IIR 6 959 0096 09

C. 2008 DAR ES SALAAM 443

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Classified By: Classified By: CDA Larry E. Andre, Jr., for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Tanzania and Iran signed a memorandum of
understanding on military cooperation and technology transfer
during Tanzanian Minister of Defense Hussein Mwinyi's visit
to Tehran in late January. The announcement of the MOU in
the Iranian press came as a surprise to many in Tanzania,
apparently including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While
the significance of the MOU itself is probably limited, its
signing demonstrates poor coordination within the GOT. End
Summary.


2. (C) Iranian news agencies, subsequently echoed by China's
Xinhua news service, ran stories on the January 21 signing of
a Tanzania-Iran MOU on military cooperation and technology
transfer. According to the reports, Mwinyi, the first
Tanzanian Defense Minister to visit Iran since before 1979,
came to Tehran at the invitation of Iranian Defense Minister
Najjar. The agreement signed by the ministers included
sharing military and defense expertise and exchanging
delegations for service, technical and field training. The
visit and MOU have not been reported in Tanzanian media.


3. (C) On January 26, MFA Multilateral Division officer Noel
Kaganda told Poloff that the news reports took MFA by
surprise. Kaganda had been able to verify the existence of
the MOU, but had no information on its content. However, he
said the GOT understands U.S. concerns about military
cooperation with Iran and insisted that the GOT is not in
violation of any UN Security Council resolutions concerning
Iran (see ref a). Kaganda said the Ministry of Defense is
authorized to act autonomously on international issues. MFA
officials have previously noted to us that Tanzania's
longstanding oil debt to Iran puts the GOT in a difficult
position to resist Iranian requests.


4. (S/NF) While MOD has not been forthcoming about the MOU,
Minister of Home Affairs Lawrence Masha told DATT that
Mwinyi's travel to Iran was known within the GOT (ref b).
Masha said ministers may travel officially to Iran (or other
countries) without formal GOT permission as long as the host
state is paying. Masha downplayed the significance of the
MOU, saying that its signing did not represent a shift in
Tanzania's relationship with Iran or the acquisition of
military weapons or equipment. Masha claimed that a policy
shift would have required approval by an interagency body
chaired by President Kikwete and consisting of the ministers
for Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Home Affairs.


5. (C) Mwinyi's visit follows other recent high-level
Tanzanian trips to Tehran. In October 2008, FM Membe
attended the fourth Tanzania-Iran Joint Permanent Commission,
where he signed agreements on cooperation in several areas,
including agriculture. During the visit, Membe was quoted in
Iranian news as critical of UN sanctions. Following a formal
Embassy request for clarification, MFA responded with a
diplomatic note affirming that Tanzania was "bound by UN
decisions including sanctions against members, in this case
Iran," while stressing both Tanzania's friendship with the
U.S. and its ongoing relations with Iran.


6. (SBU) Also in October, Zanzibar President Karume, his wife
and almost two dozen senior and mid-level Zanzibar government
officials made a six-day "State visit" to Iran. During the
visit, Iranian press and protocol treated Zanzibar as an
independent nation in free association with Tanzania, and
Karume met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Karume's visit led to negotiations for a Joint Commission for
Cooperation, which has resulted in Iran sending instructors
to establish a Persian language department at the State
University of Zanzibar. There were also discussions of
setting up branches of Iranian universities in Zanzibar for
electronic degree programs and technical education in
industry, agriculture and fisheries. Iran also promised

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loans for small-scale industry and road paving on Pemba.
Note: Karume's visit should be seen in the context of the
thousand-year history of Iranian trade and settlement on the
"Swahili Coast" and the Zanzibar islands, where indigenous
people are still referred to
as "Shirazis" (see ref c). End note.


7. (C) President Kikwete himself has not visited Iran. In
September, he told Ambassador Green that he did not consider
Iran a major concern for Tanzania domestically. Kikwete said
the divisions within Tanzania's Muslim population made it
difficult for Iran to spread its influence.


8. (C) Comment: The signing of the MOU in and of itself is
unlikely to change substantially the ongoing relationship and
cultural connections between Tanzania and Iran. There are no
indications that Tanzania intends to purchase or receive
Iranian arms. However, Defense Minister Mwinyi's actions
underscore the often weak executive authority within
President Kikwete's administration. End Comment.
ANDRE