LUXEMBOURG: PRESSURE IRAN VIA UNSC, AND TARGETED SANCTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUXEMBOURG 000029

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DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NEA/FO ELISA CATALANO
ISN/RA RICHARD NEPHEW
EUR/WE VALERIE BELON
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO AMCONSUL ALMATY
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/05
TAGS: PARM PREL IR UNSC LU
SUBJECT: LUXEMBOURG: PRESSURE IRAN VIA UNSC, AND TARGETED SANCTIONS

REF: STATE 9124; 09 STATE 120288

DERIVED FROM: Derived from previous message.


1. (C) On February 2 Ambassador Stroum and DCM discussed reftel
points with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and Ministry
of Foreign Affairs Political Director Georges Friden. Asselborn
agreed that Iran had not responded to "Obama's outstretched hand."
He said it was time to increase the pressure on Iran to enter into
constructive negotiations on its nuclear program. Asselborn said
it was crucial to get China and Russia on board; the international
community would have to be unified behind new UN Security Council
action. He said additional U.S. and EU sanctions without a UNSC
resolution would divide the international community and risk
elevating Ahmadinejad's status as a leader who dares to stand up to
the U.S. and the EU. Asselborn also stressed the importance of
targeting sanctions as carefully as possible in order to avoid
hurting the general population, "many of whom are risking their
lives to oppose the tyranny of Ahmadinejad and the mullahs."


2. (C) In a separate conversation, Friden clarified that Luxembourg
would not stand in the way of unilateral EU sanctions if China or
Russia block UNSC action, but that such an option would be a
distant second preference behind a unified UN-based approach.
Reflecting on recent EU meetings on Iran, Friden shared his
impression that among the EU-3, Germany was very close to the
Luxembourg point of view on the importance of UN Security Council
action. He characterized the UK as "ambivalent" as to how bold
the EU should be absent UN Security Council action, and said France
was probably the most forceful advocate of new EU sanctions even in
the absence of a UNSC resolution. Friden predicted that
negotiating an EU common position on Iran could be "torturous"
absent UNSC action, with little agreement on how, and to what
degree, to ratchet up the pressure on Iran.
Stroum