US embassy cable - 05ROME3631

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 003631 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PHUM, IR, IT, ITALIAN POLITICS 
SUBJECT: IRAN:  ITALY SENDS TOUGH MESSAGE 
 
REF: STATE 199225 
 
Classified By: Pol M/C David Pearce for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Prime Minister Berlusconi publicly condemned 
the statements made by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.  The 
MFA also immediately phoned the Iranian Ambassador in Rome to 
protest upon hearing Ahmadinejad's remarks, following up with 
a short public statement on its web site.  The Mayor of Rome 
called the Iranian President's statements an insult to 
civilization.  Initial press reaction was notably absent, 
though Ahmadinejad's remarks made headlines two days later. 
End summary. 
 
2. (C) PM Berlusconi, at a press conference concluding the 
special EU Summit in Hampton Court on October 27, called 
Ahmadinejad's statements "unacceptable," adding that they 
confirm the international community's concern over Tehran's 
nuclear agenda.  The MFA reacted immediately to Ahmadinejad's 
statements by having Director General for the Middle East 
Riccardo Sessa (NEA A/S Welch equivalent) phone the Iranian 
Ambassador in Rome to protest.  On October 27 the MFA posted 
a short statement on its web site but did not identify at 
what level the call had been made and qualified its initial 
condemnation by saying "if correctly reported" (text provided 
in para. 6 below).  Pol MC followed up with Sessa's Deputy, 
Luca del Balzo, to assure him that Ahmadinejad had indeed 
made the statements and to stress the importance of official, 
public condemnation of those statements.  Noting that the new 
Italian Ambassador to Washington Castellaneta was scheduled 
to meet with Secretary Rice later that day, Pol MC said he 
wanted to make sure that Washington had a full picture of 
Italy's reaction.  Del Balzo said that the MFA's condemnation 
had been issued immediately, picked up by the news agencies, 
and that Italy was informing its EU partners of its 
condemnation as well. 
 
4. (C) Pol MC followed up with two of PM Berlusconi's 
Diplomatic Advisors, Francesco Talo and Marco Carnelos.  Talo 
told Pol MC that Italy was "concerned and stupefied" by the 
remarks.  He apparently then informed Carnelos, who was 
traveling with Berlusconi for the EU Summit in the UK, of our 
concerns, as Carnelos later called Pol MC to say that he 
would check with his UK colleagues to see if FM Straw would 
make a statement on behalf of the EU.  Talo later told us the 
issue was raised with PM Berlusconi, who then issued the 
condemnation cited above. 
 
5. (C) Comment.  The high-level and public condemnation by 
Iran's largest EU trading partner is significant.  Despite 
its important trade relationship, the Government of Italy 
recognizes the egregious nature of Ahmadinejad's statements 
and spoke out in an unusually high-level and powerful way. 
End comment. 
 
6. (U) Begin text of October 27 MFA statement.  The Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs firmly condemns the statements made by 
Iranian President Ahmadinejad against the State of Israel 
(should they have been correctly reported), and has expressed 
perturbation and concern to the Iranian Ambassador in Rome. 
It also emphasized to the diplomatic representative that the 
tenor of such unacceptable affirmations fortifies concerns as 
regards the policies being pursued by the new Iranian 
leadership, in particular as far as the nuclear dossier is 
concerned.  End text. 
 
7. (U) Begin text of statement by Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni. 
 The Iranian President's very serious statements against 
Israel are an intolerable insult not only to the State of 
Israel, but to the entire international community.  Whoever, 
in whatever part of the world, believes in the values of 
civilization, community living, and peace cannot but feel 
offended and worried with the fact that statements that are 
so intolerant and violent come from a man who has very high 
political responsibilities and who leads a country that 
already causes concern because of its nuclear energy 
policies.  It is also all the more serious that those 
statements followed by one day a new and bloody terrorist 
attack that -- for the umpteenth time -- caused innocent 
victims in Israel, while alarming displays of anti-Semitism 
grow in several countries.  At this moment in time and in the 
name of a city that prides itself on representing the values 
of civilization and of dialogue among nations, a city that 
hosted on several occasions meetings for peace in the Middle 
East, I express the fullest and most affectionate solidarity 
to the representatives of Israel and to the Jewish community. 
 End text. 
 
SPOGLI