US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE1502

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001502 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETTC, EZ, IR, ERTD 
SUBJECT: NEWS REPORTS OF IRAN TRADE EMBARGO NOTHING NEW TO 
CZECHS 
 
REF: PRAGUE 000183 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Scott Harney for reasons 1.4 b+d 
 
1. (SBU) A Reuters press report on October 20, which claimed 
that Iran has stopped the imports of goods from the Czech 
Republic, Britain, South Korea and Argentina, was not new 
news to the Czech government.  According to the Reuters 
report, the Iranians imposed the trade embargo in an effort 
to punish the countries for their negative position on the 
Iranian nuclear program.  However Pavel Mrazek, Iran desk 
officer for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that 
this is nothing new and noted that the Iranians imposed an 
informal embargo on Czech companies several years ago. 
Mrazek said that since this time, the only Czech companies 
which could do business in Iran were those that had been 
specifically identified by the GOI as offering products the 
government needed.  Other Czech companies would have their 
goods stopped at Iranian customs and no letters of credit 
issued to them.  Mrazek called it less of an embargo and more 
of a harassing technique.  Although the Czechs do not see the 
latest news on an embargo as something new, they have called 
the Iranian Charge d'Affaires to the Ministry, hoping that he 
can explain the reasons for the latest announcement. 
 
2. (C) Per reftel, trade relations between the Czech Republic 
and Iran have been strained since 1998, when Prague-based 
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty launched its Farsi service, 
Radio Farda.  Trade relations worsened in 2000 after the 
Czech Parliament, at the request of the US and UK, used 
emergency legislative powers to push through a piece of 
legislation that prevented a Czech firm from supplying air 
conditioning equipment to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. 
Czech businesses have recently put pressure on the GOCR, 
particularly the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the MFA, 
to improve trade ties with Iran.  The Czechs have discussed 
the possibility of rescinding the 2000 law as a conciliatory 
gesture to Iran, however the Foreign Ministry insists that 
this is not on the agenda. Ministry of Trade officials 
suggest that the recent imposition of an embargo on the UK 
and South Korea, if true, may actually help the Czechs, as 
they now have stronger allies with which to face the Iranians 
on trade issues. 
CABANISS