NEPAL: IRAN DEMARCHES DELIVERED

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000922 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR STEPHEN MULL, ISN/RA (RICHARD NEPHEW) AND SCA/INSB E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2019 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM IR NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: IRAN DEMARCHES DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 103218 ¶B. STATE 100153 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Jeffrey A. Moon. Reasons 1.4 ( b/d). ¶1. (C) On October 8, Rudra Nepal, Under Secretary for UN and International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Emboff that nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament are very important issues to the Government of Nepal (GON),and Iran should comply with its international obligations. Emboff provided Rudra NEPAL a readout on the P5 1 talks with Iran in Geneva on October 1 (Ref A) and emphasized the existence of the covert uranium enrichment facility near Qom (Ref B). Emboff requested that the GON press Iran to keep its commitments made at the Geneva talks and support the dual track strategy. The Under Secretary said Iran's actions following the Geneva meeting would determine how the GON responds. He admitted his government has very little interaction with Iran, but the Foreign Ministry would keep U.S. concerns in mind should the Nepalese ambassador in Islamabad, who is accredited to Iran, ever meet with Iranian officials. ¶2. (C) Comment: The GON is unlikely to follow up on any Iran-related issue, either publicly or privately. MOON