IRANIAN CONTACTS TELL AUSTRIAN DIPLOMAT THERE MAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000196 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR U/S BURNS, NEA (LIMBERT, BURNS),AND CA; NSC FOR MAGSAMEN AND TALWAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2020 TAGS: CASC PREL IR AU SUBJECT: IRANIAN CONTACTS TELL AUSTRIAN DIPLOMAT THERE MAY BE PROGESS IN AMCIT HIKERS CASE REF: VIENNA 138 Classified by: Econ/Pol Counselor Philip Kaplan (acting) for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Michael Postl, former Austrian Ambassador to Iran, informed Vienna Tri-Mission Poloff February 22 by email that contacts in Tehran (NFI) had complained to him the previous week about recent publicity concerning the three Amcit hikers detained in Iran. The Iranian contacts noted that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, chief of staff to President Ahmadinejad, had told Postl in Geneva on February 1 that he wanted to resolve the issue quietly (reftel). Postl said he replied that as far as he understood, it had been the families of the hikers, not the USG, that had most recently brought attention to the matter (Note: Postl appears to be referring to a letter sent to President Ahmadinejad by the mothers of the hikers. End Note). The USG had not made a formal demarche through the Swiss recently, and therefore the Iranians should follow through on Mashaie's pledge to seek the hikers' release, Postl argued. ¶2. (C) According to Postl, the Iranian contacts followed up on February 22 with a message stating that there would be positive movement with regard to the hikers in the coming days or weeks. ¶3. (C) Comment: Postl was not particularly optimistic that the Iranians would follow through on this latest promise of progress, but wanted to pass this message in the hope that it was given to him in earnest. EACHO