Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RPODUBAI288
2009-07-15 11:52:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Iran RPO Dubai
Cable title:  

IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI: WINDOW ON IRAN - JULY

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ECON IR 
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VZCZCXRO7844
PP RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDIR #0288/01 1961152
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 151152Z JUL 09
FM RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0454
INFO RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDIR/RPO DUBAI 0455
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000288 

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON IR
SUBJECT: IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI: WINDOW ON IRAN - JULY
15, 2009

CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Richardson, Acting Director, Iran
Regional Presence Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000288

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON IR
SUBJECT: IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE DUBAI: WINDOW ON IRAN - JULY
15, 2009

CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Richardson, Acting Director, Iran
Regional Presence Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (S) Iranian Doctor Alleges Many More Deaths Than Officially
Acknowledged: A gynecologist applying for a visa in Dubai
described a frenetic scene in the hospitals during the unrest
sparked by the disputed election. He was called in to provide
support and ended up working three straight shifts - even though
he does not typically support emergency room operations. He
said the private Tehran hospital where he works took steps to
prevent the IRIG from identifying the wounded by both quickly
discharging patients following treatment and by deliberately
collecting incorrect information from the patients, such as
writing down the wrong name or address. Personnel at the
government-run hospitals, he understood, were forced to collect
accurate information. Government authorities came to the
hospital to identify those treated during the unrest but such
visits have now stopped. The doctor's wife said she had heard
from an eye surgeon that he had operated on 15 patients who had
suffered eye wounds after being shot with rubber bullets. The
couple alleged that at least 200 people died during the unrest,
basing their claim on comments from other doctors, who had all
said 15 or had died at their respective hospitals. It is now
rumored that the government has paid off the families of those
killed to keep them quiet. Comment: The doctor and his wife
were open in their criticism of the IRIG and, interestingly, are
themselves vivid examples of some Iranians' fixation with
Britain's supposedly malign intentions toward Iran. While they
did not allege that the UK was responsible for the unrest, as
the IRIG asserts, they generally held the UK responsible many of
Iran's current problems. The doctor's comment regarding what
happened in the hospital where he works seemed to accurately
reflect what he saw and heard first-hand, but given the couple's
penchant for conspiracy theories, it is impossible to gauge the
accuracy of the other rumors they heard. That said, there is
strong anecdotal reporting to suggest that the number of those

killed and seriously injured is higher than the IRIG's
officially reported tallies.




2. (S/NF) Revolutionary Guards Take Prominent Role in Recent
Political Detentions: The family of detained economic analyst
Bijan Khajehpour has been told (unofficially) by a senior
judiciary official that he is under the control of the
Revolutionary Guards, rather than the Ministry of Intelligence
and Security, as the family first suspected. The same source
told them that Khajehpour was moved from Evin Prison to an
unknown location several days ago. Comment: If confirmed, the
IRGC, which was reportedly also responsible for the re-arrest
over the weekend of Iranian-American Kian Tajbakhsh, is moving
into territory traditionally dominated by the MOIS. A
Dubai-based friend of Tajbakhsh, who has had his own problems
with Iran's intelligence service, told us that Tajbakhsh was in
good standing with his MOIS "parole officer" at the time of his
re-arrest and was abiding by the terms of his "probation" (i.e.,
not engaging with international organizations).




3. (S/NF) Austrian Ambassador to Tehran Pays Price for
Supporting Saberi: Austria's Ambassador to Tehran will be
leaving Iran early after pressure from IRIG officials unhappy
with his activism on behalf of the Iranian-American journalist
Roxana Saberi, according to a Dubai-based Iranian political
consultant. The long-standing IRPO contact said that earlier
this week he approached Austrian diplomats to request that they
quietly lobby the IRIG on behalf of Bijan Khajehpour, his former
business partner and a prominent analyst, who was arrested last
month upon his return from a business trip to Europe. The
Austrians, who know Khajehpour well, explained that they had
spent all their "political capital" on behind-the-scenes
advocacy for Saberi's release from prison earlier this year, and
that as a consequence Ambassador Postle is being "forced out" of
Iran early. Comment: If accurate, the early departure of the
Austrian Ambassador suggests that even the influence of Western
governments usually viewed with less antagonism by hardliners is
diminishing.




4. (C) Some Working Class Iranians "Oblivious" to Recent Unrest:
An Iranian engineer and factory owner observed that the three
dozen workers at his small valve manufacturing plant 30 km
outside of Tehran were mostly "oblivious" to the recent unrest
over the disputed election. He explained that after the first
week of large-scale demonstrations, which were covered (to an
extent) by state media, many working class Iranians had little
awareness of the continuing turmoil. His employees, who don't

DUBAI 00000288 002 OF 002


use the Internet and do not live or work near the locations of
the subsequent protests, expressed skepticism when the factory
owner recently suggested that election controversy was not yet
over. Our contact added that while his employees do have access
to satellite television, they tend to be wary of foreign news
channels and assume that like Iranian state television and
radio, all media promote political agendas. The factory owner
said that "all but two" of his employees told him they voted for
Ahmadinejad, and pointed to the 50,000 toman ($50) vouchers they
received at an Ahmadinejad rally just before the election as
having won them over. Our contact said he jokingly warned his
employees that they should complain directly to Ahmadinejad when
he has to close his business and the factory as a result of the
failing economy. Comment: The attitude of the factory workers
suggests that the state's monopoly of media remains an effective
curb on information, particularly for Iranians without access to
the Internet. The workers' attitude also shows that there are
Iranians who supported Ahmadinejad and will not question the
subsequent government's legitimacy.




5. (C) Economic Constraints Prevent Factory Closure in Support
of Mousavi: The same factory owner said that he had been unable
to close his factory in solidarity with the demonstrators,
despite his own wish to tangibly support the movement. He
explained that outstanding loans as well as unfilled orders
meant that they could not close down temporarily without risking
the complete collapse of the company, which manufactures gas
valves for LPG cylinders. Our contact said that he and the
factory manager had even explored the possibility of speeding up
production to stockpile inventory so that they could shut down
for a few months, but had concluded that even this approach was
not feasible. Comment: This anecdote tracks with what we have
heard from numerous small business owners and even some public
sector employees, who say that they are too economically
vulnerable to risk losing their businesses or jobs by
participating in a strike.




6. (S/NF) Institute in Orumiyeh Voluntarily Closes to Avoid
Post-Election Trouble: The director of a private
English-language institute in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh
told us that he had chosen to close the institute voluntarily
during the recent unrest to avoid the attention of authorities.
The local office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance
had ordered the institute closed about two months ago amid an
inquiry of charges that it was "introducing Western culture."
After a week, the director said, he and his partners succeeded
in getting well-placed officials in Tehran to intervene and
re-opened the school. The decision to close after the election
was made to avoid any appearance that the institute was in any
way involved in the protests that took place in Orumiyeh after
the election and invite further scrutiny by the security
services. He added that demonstrations in Orumiyeh were much
smaller than elsewhere and voters more discrete in their support
for Mousavi, in large part because of a large MOIS regional
office there. Comment: Our contact remains eager to develop
relationships with US universities and regularly contacts us via
phone and e-mail from Iran. Asked if his contacts with IRPO may
have led to his problems, he intimated that his family had
powerful friends in Tehran who were supportive of greater
educational ties between Iran and the US. His problems most
likely had come from zealous local officials, he said, and he
felt safe in continuing contacts with us.




7. (C) Suffering for Art's Sake: An Iranian artist and gallery
owner told us this week that many Iranian artists were moving
further underground or selling their art abroad. She said that
Iranian gallery owners and artists had come under more intense
scrutiny in the past year, after an ill-advised exhibition that
included paintings showing nudity. Authorities had required all
galleries to be re-licensed and conducted background checks on
the owners and had raided the homes of some art owners to
confiscate "immoral" paintings. Further, the conservative
cleric recently named to head the agency licensing art galleries
had stated that Islam and religious themes were the only
suitable subjects for artists. The Ahmadinejad administration
had also stated its intent to stop all government support for
artists. Asked about Mir Hossein Mousavi's presidency at the
Iranian Academy of Arts, she said he had done very little to
support artists although the art community had expected greater
freedom if he had been elected.
RICHARDSON