US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3827

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003827 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2015 
TAGS: PARM, PGOV, PREL, PBTS, IZ, IR, KU, KUWAIT-IRAN RELATIONS 
SUBJECT: FM TO RAISE IRAQ, IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM, AND 
KUWAITI-IRANIAN MARITIME BOUNDARY IN UPCOMING VISIT TO IRAN 
 
REF: KUWAIT 2548 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) The Ambassador met August 27 with Foreign Minister 
Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah at the latter's 
invitation to discuss the FM's one-day visit to Iran on 
August 28.  The FM said that he would raise three "issues of 
concern" with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- Iraq, 
the Iranian nuclear program, and the disputed Kuwaiti-Iranian 
maritime boundary -- and that he welcomed U.S. views on these 
matters.  The FM mentioned that he would "congratulate" 
Ahmadinejad on his election and would invite him to visit 
Kuwait.  The Ambassador provided points received from 
Department emphasizing continued U.S. support for EU-3 
efforts.  (Note: Earlier in the day, the EU-3 representatives 
met with the FM.  In addition to the standard points tracking 
our own, the British Ambassador advised the Ambassador that 
the EU-3 told the FM that there would be no EU "fudging" on 
the issue of uranium conversion.  End note.) 
 
Iraq 
---- 
 
2.  (C) On Iraq, the FM said he did not expect the new 
Iranian government to change its policy, but he would 
nonetheless encourage Ahmadinejad to use Iranian influence to 
help stabilize the situation in Iraq, which was currently "a 
major item of concern" to Kuwait.  He confided to the 
Ambassador that Kuwait was also trying to convince "people we 
have contact with" in Iraq to help secure the situation in 
the country. 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
3.  (C) Regarding Iran's nuclear program, the FM said Kuwait 
was "very concerned" about the presence of a nuclear reactor 
in the Gulf and the possibility of a nuclear accident with 
catastrophic environmental ramifications.  The Ambassador 
argued, however, that of greater concern was the possibility 
of a nuclear-armed state emerging in the Gulf.  The 
Ambassador added that the international community needed to 
do everything it could to delay Iran obtaining nuclear 
weapons, given Iran's demonstrated determination to obtain 
this capability. 
 
4.  (C) The FM asked if the provision of safe nuclear 
technology would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons 
in the short term.  The Ambassador stressed that Iran, under 
every government, has demonstrated a clear determination to 
develop a nuclear bomb and therefore acquiring safe nuclear 
technology did not appear to be its priority.  The FM said he 
did not dispute the fact that the current Iranian government 
wanted nuclear weapons, but that Kuwait believed the best 
tack to pursue was to argue to Iran that if it really wanted 
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes it should accept the 
EU-3 deal, which would ensure Iran had access to the most 
advanced, safest nuclear technology.  The FM concluded that 
he would present the Gulf countries' concern about Iran's 
nuclear program to Ahmadinejad.  The FM also mentioned that 
he met with the EU-3 ambassadors the morning of August 27, 
but did not elaborate on their conversation. 
 
Kuwaiti-Iranian Maritime Boundary 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C)   Regarding the disputed Kuwaiti-Iranian maritime 
boundary, the FM said he would suggest to Ahmadinejad that 
the two countries reconvene bilateral meetings to negotiate a 
resolution to the boundary issue. 
 
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Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
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LEBARON