DEMARCHES TO NORWAY ON MISSING/DETAINED AMCIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000569 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/IR - SPRING, CA/OCS - MARWAHA, ISN/RA - MONGIELLO, EUR/NB E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2019 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM IAEA IR PREL AORC PGOV PHUM PINR, PROP, PTER, CASC, NO SUBJECT: DEMARCHES TO NORWAY ON MISSING/DETAINED AMCIT CASES AND IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM REF: A. STATE 94757 ¶B. STATE 95073 Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY POLECON COUNSELOR CHERRIE DANIELS, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a September 16 meeting, Deputy Polecon Counselor delivered demarches on missing/detained Amcit cases (Ref A) and Iran's nuclear program (Ref B) to Deputy Director Torunn Viste and Iran Desk Officer Mai Tonheim in the Norwegian MFA's Middle East section. Tonheim outlined Norway's interventions with the Iranians on human rights cases and undertook to analyze the Amcit cases, but she did not specifically commit to raising the cases with the GOI. On the nuclear program, Tonheim emphasized Norway's desire for the issue to be resolved through negotiations rather than force. She also shared her insights on the domestic political and human rights situation in Iran based on a recent TDY at the Norwegian Embassy in Teheran. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Missing/Detained Amcits: Deputy Polecon Counselor and Consul demarched Deputy Director Torunn Viste and Mai Tonheim in the Norwegian MFA's Middle East section on the six Americans detained or missing in Iran per ref A. In response, Tonheim described Norway's human rights work in Iran. Norway dedicates one diplomatic position in Teheran solely to human rights issues, with priority given to death penalty cases involving juveniles as well as detention and harassment of human rights workers. She said that Norway had worked closely with the EU and the U.K. Embassies on the arrest of Embassy employees and of foreign nationals. Tonheim reported that Norway maintained a regular dialogue with the Iranian authorities on human rights, and opined that the GON's interventions were having a positive impact in individual cases. Returning to the missing/detained Amcits, Tonheim suggested that the Iranian authorities were unlikely to treat the dual-national cases as American citizens. She said the MFA would analyze the Amcit cases, but did not specifically commit to raise any of them with the GOI. ¶3. (C) Iran's Nuclear Program: Deputy Polecon Counselor also delivered ref B demarche on Iran's nuclear program. After noting that MFA,s Disarmament section had the lead on this issue within the MFA, Tonheim responded with questions about the possibility of and timeline for tougher sanctions on Iran, but emphasized Norway's desire for the issue to be resolved through negotiations rather than force. She suggested that an embargo on gasoline sales to Iran would be hard to implement. Poloff separately delivered points to MFA,s Disarmament section, but they did not offer any comment. ¶4. (C) Iranian Domestic Political Outlook: Tonheim, who recently returned from a one-month TDY at Norway's Embassy in Teheran, commented that Iranian society was becoming "militarized". The Iranian Minister of Intelligence talked of recruiting 70 million members to his staff, illustrating the extent of desired regime surveillance. She said there were fewer signs of open protest as the GOI was succeeding in cowing the urban population. Tonheim pointed out that opposition support appears to be much higher among the educated and urban segments of Iran's population than in poorer and rural areas. For this reason, she said it was an open question whether Ahmedinejad could have garnered enough support from his rural supporters to offset urban opposition if the authorities had allowed the election to go to a second round. ¶5. (C) Human Rights: Tonheim believes the GOI is to some extent willing to curb human rights abuses to limit bad press. Two committees have been established to investigate prison abuse, 12 individuals are going on trial for abuse of detainees, and at least one prison has been closed down. While the regime can acknowledge torture and even death in detention, she noted that the GOI is completely unwilling to investigate rape allegations. She noted that the Evin prison is regarded to have better conditions for detainees than facilities run by the Revolutionary Guard or militias. HEG