ITALIAN COUNTERNARCOTICS COOPERATION WITH IRAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 UNVIE VIENNA 000242

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2023
TAGS: PREL SNAR AF PAK IR IT
SUBJECT: ITALIAN COUNTERNARCOTICS COOPERATION WITH IRAN
GOOD, BUT VARIABLE

UNVIE VIEN 00000242 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte for reasons 1.4 (c) and (e
)


1. (C) Summary. On May 20, Msnoff met with an Italian
counterpart, Marco Prencipe, who recently left a four-year
post in Tehran to discuss the effectiveness of Iranian
cooperation with the Italians on counternarcotics efforts.
For the most part, cooperation has been successful, and Italy
and Iran have signed a number of memoranda of understanding
(MOUs),most of which focus on judicial and police
cooperation and are technical in nature. However, when
international pressure on Iran increased in 2006, the
bilateral counternarcotics relationship suffered and Italy
was forced to work solely through multilateral fora.
Prencipe argued that U.S.-Iranian counternarcotics
cooperation is possible, but that Iran has a different
concept of time and does not feel any urgency to cooperate,
despite its probable interest in engagement. Nevertheless,
Italy wants to use its G-8 presidency to convey that Iran is
important and should be engaged. Iran can be part of the
solution, but we need to recognize its positive role as well
as its negative role. At the same time, Prencipe argued,
Iran needs to show that it can be a constructive part of the
solution. End Summary.

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Italian Cooperation Focused on Technical, Regional Approaches
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2. (C) Italian Msnoff Marco Prencipe, who left a four-year
post in Tehran last fall, told Msnoff on May 20 that, in
general, bilateral cooperation between Italy and Iran on
counternarcotics has been good since it first posted a drug
liaison officer (DLO) to Tehran and increased bilateral
cooperation in 2005. (Comment: UNODC recently told Msnoff
that the Italians have the only outstanding Western drug
liaison officer posted to Iran. End Comment.) Italy and
Iran have signed a number of memoranda of understanding
(MOUs),most of which focus on judicial and police
cooperation and are technical in nature. Cooperation has
focused on countertrafficking, especially of precursors and
psychotropics, and a joint agreement on security and
transnational crime. Iran and Italy do a few exchanges each
year which include training, most of which happens in Italy
and is centered on programs for judges and magistrates.
These exchanges largely happen between the anti-mafia units
in Italy and the Iranian Judiciary. Iran has also been
interested in how Italian data collection and processing is
done in the judiciary and police forces.


3. (C) When Iranian Drug Control Headquarters Head
Moghadam was in Vienna for the Commission on Narcotic Drugs,
he met with the head of the Italian delegation, which
Prencipe noted was unusual. They discussed demand reduction
efforts, and Iran was interested in Italy,s comprehensive
approach to the issue, which Prencipe perceives as very close
to the U.S. approach.


4. (C) Prencipe believes that the Italian bilateral
relationship on counternarcotics works where other
relationships with the West have failed because Iran sees a
political value to countering its international isolation,
and Italy has been a long-term partner on a variety of
issues. Nevertheless, he noted that it is sometimes
difficult for their DLO to keep close contact with his
Iranian interlocutors and in 2006, when the international
pressure on Iran increased, Italy, too, was forced to work
through multilateral fora on counternarcotics.


5. (C) Prencipe argued that Iran has a real interest in
the counternarcotics issue and thus, cooperation with the
U.S. might be possible. However, to make a decision to
engage with the U.S., even on this issue, Iranian leaders
will need to present cooperation to the elite and the public
as justifiable. Iran does not feel any urgency to engage on
the issue, he said, because Iran has a different concept of
time than the West, but Iran,s failure to move quickly does
not mean that Iran does not take the opportunity to engage
seriously. "They probably do," he noted. At the same time,
Iran wants to capitalize on the "credit" they feel they
deserve for their work to stabilize Afghanistan and counter
narcotics trafficking.


6. (C) Prencipe also stressed Italy,s focus on a regional
approach to drug control and his government,s belief that
Iran can play a positive role in a regional approach if they

UNVIE VIEN 00000242 002.2 OF 002


choose to. This is why Rome invited Italy to the upcoming G8
meeting in Trieste. Italy wants to use its G8 presidency to
convey that Iran is important and that "we" need to engage
Iran. Iran can be part of the solution, but we need to
recognize its positive role as well as its negative role. At
the same time, Prencipe argued, Iran needs to show that it
can be a constructive part of the solution.

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Saberi Arrest Probably a Negotiating Tool
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7. (C) Prencipe noted that he knew Roxana Saberi
personally from his time in Iran and was surprised when she
was arrested and sentenced so heavily given her lack of focus
on politics. Unlike Esfandiareh, whose arrest was likely
because of her more political nature, Saberi,s work was more
like a diary and focused on Iranian culture. Prencipe,s
personal view was that her arrest was currency for the
dialogue with the U.S., and he had not been worried that she
would be held for long. He did note, however, that the
Iranian government sometimes does punish people for perceived
slights to Iranian culture, citing the fact that Golshifteh
Farahani, a famous Iranian actress who starred opposite
Leonardo diCaprio in Body of Lies, was not allowed back to
Iran because of the loose adherence to Islamic values that
she displayed in the film. Prencipe also noted that the
President,s Nowruz speech was effective and that it "looked
like an Iranian wrote it." He said that from his
perspective, this speech "puts the ball in Iran,s court."
SCHULTE