US embassy cable - 05VIENNA3487

UNCLAS VIENNA 003487 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS - VIKMANIS-KELLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PHUM, IR, AU 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA ON IRANIAN PRESIDENT'S 
 
INCREASING EXTREMISM 
 
REF: STATE 199225 
 
This message is SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  Please treat 
 
accordingly. 
 
1.  (U) EconPolCouns and visiting EUR/ERA director Chase 
 
discussed reftel points on October 28 with Austrian Foreign 
 
Ministry political director Thomas Mayr-Harting and MFA 
 
Middle East director Ralph Scheide.  We also passed reftel 
 
points to Austrian MFA EU correspondent Andreas Riecken. 
 
2.  (SBU) Mayr-Harting and Scheide had summoned the Iranian 
 
Charge d'Affaires to the Foreign Ministry to convey "in no 
 
uncertain terms" that Iranian President Ahmadi-Nejad's 
 
October 25 statements calling for Israel to be "wiped off the 
 
map" were entirely unacceptable.  Scheide told us that the 
 
Iranian tried to explain Ahmadi-Nejad's comments in the 
 
context of the internal Iranian political situation, pointing 
 
to the particular October 25 event as one which tends to be 
 
the scene of such statements.  However, Scheide noted, 
 
Ahmadi-Nejad had then confirmed what he had said. 
 
3.  (SBU) hase pointed out that a regime which made 
 
statements such as that which Ahmadi-Nejad had made should 
 
not be allowed to achieve a nuclear weapons capability. 
 
Scheide said he fully agreed.  Scheide noted that one of the 
 
most important outcomes from the Ahmadi-Nejad statement was a 
 
change in the Russian position on referring the nuclear 
 
dispute with Iran to the United Nations Security Council. 
 
That should "teach a lesson" to Iran, Scheide noted. 
 
4.  (U) On October 27, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula 
 
Plassnik commented at a press conference that she was "very 
 
concerned" by Ahmadi-Nejad's statements.  She said the 
 
statements were "definitely to be rejected," and said she 
 
would consult with Austria's EU partners on a common response. 
 
van Voorst