US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3902

C O N F I D E N T I A L  KUWAIT 003902 
 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2015 
TAGS: PARM, PGOV, PREL, PBTS, IZ, IR, KU 
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIS VISIT TO IRAN; PRESIDENT 
AHMADINEJAD, FM MATTOUKI, AND FORMER PRESIDENT RAFSANJANI 
 
REF: KUWAIT 03827 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary. Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah 
Al-Salem Al-Sabah sat with the Ambassador on August 30 to 
discuss his trip to Tehran, two days earlier.  The visit 
itself last four hours on the ground and included meetings 
with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new Foreign Minister, 
Manouchechr Mattouki, and former President Hashemi 
Rafsanjani.  As mentioned in reftel, the FM raised three 
topics of concern: the Iranian nuclear program, Iraq, and the 
disputed maritime border between the two countries.  The FM 
found Ahmadinejad stuck in campaign mode and focused almost 
exclusively on economic issues while Foreign Minister, 
Manouchechr Mattouki, was more "realistic" about foreign 
policy.  The FM also met former President Rafsanjani, who 
ridiculed the notion of "Iranian" nuclear technology. The 
Foreign Minister pointed out that Ahmadinejad's upcoming trip 
to New York for UNGA meetings afforded a good opportunity to 
begin to bring external influences to his parochial 
worldview.  End Summary. 
 
Iran's Nuclear Program 
---------------------- 
 
2.  (C) In his first meeting with the new President of Iran, 
the FM cautioned Ahmadinejad not to underestimate the 
international reaction to the nuclear issue, especially 
western and U.S. opinion.  The FM stated that that it was a 
serious matter, not one of politics.  The US-EU positions had 
converged, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed told Ahmadinejad, and the GOK 
shared their concerns.  The FM urged Ahmadinejad to rethink 
the EU-3 proposal.  He advised that Kuwaiti concern emanates 
from the fact that the reactor site is so close to the 
Kuwaiti border.  Continuing, the FM stated that technological 
and safety standards should be on par with international 
standards, and that the Europeans have technology that would 
ease concerns.  Regarding the undeclared program, the Kuwaiti 
advised that the GOI should cooperate with the IAEA. 
 
3.  (C) In response, Ahmadinejad said that that the Islamic 
world had a right to such (nuclear) power and a fatwa raised 
by the FM, which forbade the development and manufacture of 
nuclear weapons, was moot as Iran's use for nuclear 
technology was for civilian purposes only.  In a separate 
meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Shaykh Dr. Mohammed raised 
his concerns about the program with FM Mattouki.  The new FM 
was more realistic, telling Shaykh Dr. Mohammed that he would 
like to work with the EU-3 on a solution.  Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed also met with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani 
who initially brushed off GOK's concern that the technology 
would be Russian, joking that "indigenous Iranian" technology 
would actually build the reactor.  The FM then reminded him 
that the Russian blueprint is the same as the one used for 
the ill-fated Chernobyl plant.  Rafsanjani responded "we 
would love to have European technology" to build the reactor 
but after the German contract foundered, Iran was forced to 
look at the Russian models.  Rafsanjani added that he would 
"go straight to western technology" if he could. 
 
Iraq's Need for External Forces 
------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) On Iraq, President Ahmadinejad stated that the 
presence of U.S troops was "fueling the terrorists" in Iraq 
and the U.S. shared responsibility for Iraq's instability. 
The FM countered that the U.S. and international troops were 
not part of the problem but of the solution and that if they 
were to withdraw, "all hell would break loose."  The FM added 
that the problem would not be so bad for Kuwait since it does 
not suffer from ethnic and sectarian problems as do other 
states in the region.  He pointed out that the IIG had asked 
for the international troops to stay in Iraq.  Additionally, 
the FM pointed out, U.S. troops were present in the region to 
ensure regional stability, not just for Iraq.  The FM went on 
to say that he advised Ahmadinejad to listen more to the 
Iraqi President and Foreign Minister of Iraq and to their 
concerns. 
 
The President's Interest - "It's the Economy, Stupid" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
5.  (C) On his third point, Shaykh Mohammed asked Ahmadinejad 
to increase his dialogue with the GCC.  Commenting that 
Ahmadinejad said some things during his presidential campaign 
which made his neighbors uncomfortable, the FM counseled 
Ahmadinejad to improve his relations with the GCC.  The FM 
and the Iranian President discussed the GOK's desire to 
import water and gas from Iran, a topic of interest to 
Ahmadinejad.  The FM remarked to us that the President was 
not focused on anything that was not directly linked to the 
economy.  Shaykh Dr. Mohammed then broached the question of 
restarting discussions on the disputed maritime border 
between Kuwait and Iran, but Ahmadinejad offered no 
indication that he knew the issue in any detail. 
 
6.  (C) Manouchechr Mattouki, a former Deputy Foreign 
Minister for International Affairs and former chairman of the 
Foreign Relations Committee in Parliament, told Shaykh Dr. 
Mohammed that the new President was "not fond" of foreign 
policy.  Reminding the Kuwaiti FM that Ahmadinejad was 
elected on an economic platform, he said that the President 
had a disdain for foreign policy.  On the possibility of 
restarting talks, Mattouki said that the resolution of the 
disputed Continental Shelf issue was very important to 
Iran-Kuwaiti relations and that the Foreign Ministry was 
willing to engage the GOK on it.  (Note: Shaykh Dr. Mohammed 
told the Ambassador that previous solutions to the 
Continental Shelf issue had been vetoed by the Iranian 
Ministry of Oil or by lesser offices within other ministries. 
 He surmised that as the topic was one of national security 
interest, that the vetoes were actually coming from the 
office of National Security or some other powerful but 
unforeseen body.  He cautioned that he did not put a lot of 
weight in the ability of individual ministries to resolve 
issues on their own. End Note) 
 
A New York Opportunity 
---------------------- 
 
7.  (C) The FM spoke at length about the opportunity which 
would present itself when Ahmadinejad traveled to New York to 
attend UNGA meetings.  Shaykh Mohammed said that the trip 
would allow Ahmadinejad to hear others perceptions of Iran, 
"straight from the horse's mouth."  It would also let 
Ahmadinejad be exposed to other elements in the western world 
which might expand his viewpoint.  Although Shaykh Mohammed 
found Ahmadinejad to still be stuck in campaign mode and 
lecturing rather than talking, he believed that the upcoming 
trip to New York could help widen the President's worldview. 
 
Cheap Suits and Moderation 
-------------------------- 
 
8. (C) Shaykh Mohammed added one last item about his trip to 
Tehran.  He said that Ahmadinejad's office was very modest 
and his suit fabric was simple and plain.  The FM remarked 
that it would be interesting to see if the trappings of 
office and the suit material improves after a year in office. 
 
 
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LEBARON