US embassy cable - 05VIENNA406

S E C R E T VIENNA 000406 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PRA, NP/ECNP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2015 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, ETTC, AU 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA:  NO APPROVAL TO EXPORT MORE SNIPER RIFLES 
 
REF: A. (A) VIENNA 331 
 
     B. (B) VIENNA 165 
     C. (C) STATE 9770 
     D. (D) VIENNA 37 
     E. (E) 04 STATE 272249 
     F. (F) 04 VIENNA 4393 
     G. (G) 04 VIENNA 4354 
     H. (H) 04 STATE 263141 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR W.L. LYONS BROWN.  REASON:  1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1.  (S) Summary:  Diplomatic Advisor to the Chancellor Hans 
Peter Manz assured the Ambassador on February 10 that the 
Austrian government would not/not authorize Steyr-Mannlicher 
to export any further sniper rifles to Iran.  He also noted 
that the government would not permit the export of handguns 
to Iran.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (S) Manz met with the Ambassador and DCM in a follow-up 
to the February 3 meeting (ref a) in which Ambassador 
conveyed U.S. request for formal Austrian assurances that no 
rifle shipments beyond the 800 weapons already on their way 
would be permitted. 
 
3.  (S) Serial Numbers:  Both Manz and the Ambassador 
regretted the refusal of Steyr-Mannlicher President 
Fuerlinger to provide the serial numbers for the exported 
rifles (ref a).  Manz said the government had done its best 
to persuade Fuerlinger otherwise, but could not force him to 
waive the company,s data privacy rights. 
 
4.  (S) Further Shipments:  The Ambassador asked whether the 
Austrian government was now prepared to confirm officially 
that no further rifle shipments to Iran would be authorized. 
Manz responded that, contrary to press reports, there were 
no/no further rifle shipments arising out of 
Steyr-Mannlicher's original 2004 application currently in the 
government licensing process.  In last year,s request for an 
export license, Steyr-Mannlicher had asked to ship 2,000 
rifles to Iran.  After deciding that this number was 
excessive to Iran,s requirements, the Austrian government 
limited Steyr-Mannlicher,s export license to a total of 800 
rifles.  Manz said that the licensing process is finished; 
should the company still want to export any number above the 
800 rifles, it must submit a new export license application. 
Manz said that the ministries in charge of vetting export 
requests (Interior, Defense, and Foreign Affairs) had assured 
him that their response to a further rifle export license 
application would be "a clear and emphatic no.8  Manz 
clarified that all it took to disapprove an export 
application was the non-concurrence of one of the three 
ministries; a &no8 from any of the ministries required the 
government to refuse the request. 
 
5.  (S) As he had previously, Manz championed the legality 
and the rationality of the government,s decision to allow 
Steyr-Mannlicher to sell a limited number of the rifles to 
Iran for the purposes of border control.  Manz asserted that 
the three ministries administered Austria,s export laws with 
great attention and were extremely careful to ensure that 
approved exports fully met the strict criteria of the 
regulations.  Steyr-Mannlicher,s application, like other 
sensitive transfers, had been rigorously vetted.  As an 
example of Austria,s continued alertness to and concern for 
the possible end use of weapons, Manz said the Austrian 
government &would never deliver handguns to the Iranians8 
(ref b) because they could too easily be used for purposes 
other than the one listed in the end user certificate. 
 
6.  (S) Comment:  Manz,s assurances to the Ambassador that 
there will be no further shipments of the Steyr-Mannlicher 
rifles are the authoritative word we have been seeking.  His 
comment that the Austrians would not allow handguns to be 
shipped to Iran is an added plus, since we had heard  that 
Glock and other manufacturers were interested in such 
exports. Although we will continue to work on obtaining the 
serial numbers of the 800 exported rifles, Manz,s comments 
made it apparent that the government does not intend to exert 
more pressure on Steyr-Mannlicher to be helpful to us. 
Company president Fuerlinger, meanwhile, has staked out such 
a firm "Steyr-Mannlicher vs. the U.S.8 position in the press 
that it appears unlikely he will provide the numbers absent 
the outrageous &deal8 he has offered to the U.S. (ref a). 
Brown