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

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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

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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.

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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