IRANIAN MINISTER OF INTERIOR VISITS BAHRAIN, SEEKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000117 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2029 TAGS: PREL PBTS IR AEC BA SUBJECT: IRANIAN MINISTER OF INTERIOR VISITS BAHRAIN, SEEKS TO END SPAT REF: A. MANAMA 91 ¶B. MANAMA 57 ¶C. MANAMA 50 Classified By: Ambassador Adam Ereli for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: Iran's Interior Minister visited Bahrain in an effort to defuse tensions. Bahrain's Foreign Minister announced that he viewed the dispute as resolved. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Following Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri's public ruminations about old Iranian claims to Bahrain (ref A) and subsequent denunciations by a chorus of Arab leaders, Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli visited Manama to repair Bahraini-Iranian relations. Mahsouli met with King Hamad and delivered a letter from Ahmadinejad. ¶3. (U) On February 24 Mahsouli gave a long speech to a security industry forum asserting that Iran wants good relations with Gulf neighbors, and blaming the region's problems on "Zionist expansionism" and on the presence of foreign military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He publicly affirmed Iran's support and respect for Bahrain's sovereignty and claimed Abu Musa and the Tunbs were part of Iran but Tehran was willing to discuss the issue. ¶4. (U) In interviews later with local media, Mahsouli claimed the controversy over Nateq-Nouri's statement was "a misunderstanding" and added "some have taken advantage of the incident." ¶5. (U) Meanwhile, Bahraini MPs told media that the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani, had phoned his Bahraini counterpart to assure him that Nateq-Nouri's statement had been misreported and that Iran sought only the best of relations with Bahrain. FM: Dispute Over -------------- ¶6. (C) Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa told media February 24 that the dispute between Iran and Bahrain over Nateq-Nouri's remarks was finished. The FM's aide, Ambassador Saeed Al Faihani, confirmed to DCM that Bahrain now wants the dispute to cool down, "at least in public." ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** ERELI