IRAN: NO HINT OF COMPROMISE ON THE EVE OF NEGOTIATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000398 SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO U/S BURNS' PARTY E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/30/2019 TAGS: PREL PARM PROP IR SUBJECT: IRAN: NO HINT OF COMPROMISE ON THE EVE OF NEGOTIATIONS REF: DUBAI RPO 393 DUBAI 00000398 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Richardson, Acting Director, Iran Regional Presence Office, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On the eve of negotiations with the US and other P5+1 members, Iranian officials insisted that they will neither surrender the country's nuclear rights nor bow to threats of further sanctions. Iranian officials balanced these uncompromising statements with expressions of Iran's goodwill and optimism for the negotiations, so long as they conform to the framework Iran has proposed. Iranian officials continue to stay on message in laying out Iran's position, giving little indication they are prepared to offer concessions and underscoring that they want negotiations to play out on their terms. End summary. ¶2. (C) Several statements by Iranian officials September 28 and 29 offered no last-minute changes in Iran's position in approaching its negotiations with the P5+1. Iranian officials continued to stress that Iran's "inalienable" right to nuclear technology is not up for discussion. Foreign Minister Manocher Mottaki, speaking to the press in New York after a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said Iran would not concede its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Ali Akhbar Salehi told hard-line, conservative daily Kayhan September 29 that the newly acknowledged site near Qom was a clear indication of Iran's determination not to suspend uranium enrichment . "If we have the right to enrich uranium and convert it to produce fuel [for a reactor], we will accomplish this," he said. (NOTE: Salehi said discussions with the IAEA over access to the second site were continuing but no timetable for inspections had been agreed. END NOTE). ¶3. (C) Iranian PermRep to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh told Al Jazeera, in an interview picked up by Iranian website Rajanews September 30, that the only basis for negotiations in Geneva was the Iranian proposal passed to the P5+1. Pressed to elaborate, Soltanieh said Iran would not discuss its nuclear activities, but that Iran would be open to discussion of nuclear proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy as global issues. Asked about the threat of further sanctions if negotiations fail, Soltanieh said Iran would not be intimidated, and attempts to use sanctions as a stick to compel Iran to change its behavior would be fruitless. ¶4. (C) Separately, in a show of unity with the government, 239 of 290 deputies in the Majlis signed a statement September 29 urging the P5+1 not to repeat past mistakes and take advantage of a "historic opportunity" to conduct talks within the framework of Iran's September 9 proposal. Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaedin Boroujerdi said September 28 that Iran would not accept suspension of enrichment as a condition for negotiations, while MP Hassan Ghafourifard September 29 suggested that Iran withdraw from the NPT if the West persisted in trying to force it to stop its development of nuclear technology. ¶5. (C) National Security Council Secretary and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, before departing for Geneva September 29, told ISNA that he was approaching the negotiations with a positive attitude and goodwill. Jalili said that the negotiations presented both sides with an opportunity for security and stability in the region "based on peace and justice," as well as making progress in other areas of concern to the international community and Iran. ¶6. (C) Comment: Iranian officials continue to stay on message (reftel) in laying out Iran's position for negotiations in Geneva, giving little indication they are prepared to offer concessions while putting the onus on the P5+1 to accept the Iranian framework as the basis for discussion. While the Iranians seem to be making some last-minute goodwill gestures, such as granting consular access to the detained American hikers and the reported release of other detainees, these should not be seen as a softening of Iran's position on the nuclear issue. DUBAI 00000398 002.2 OF 002 In our view, the tone of these most recent statements continues to suggest that Iran wants to be, at a minimum, seen as an equal and accorded respect before it comes face-to-face with the US and its partners. Simultaneously, the Iranian public posture also seems to be laying the groundwork for Iran to absolve itself of any blame should negotiations fail. RICHARDSON