US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE1707

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001707 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE FOR FICHTE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2015 
TAGS: EZ, PREL, PGOV, ETRD, PINR, KNNP, IR 
SUBJECT: IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS PRAGUE BUT 
LEAVES EMPTY-HANDED 
 
Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Michael Dodman for reasons 
1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The recent visit of an Iranian parliamentary 
delegation to Prague left a trail of conflicting claims and 
counterclaims between the Iranians and their Czech hosts. 
Closer investigation has revealed that most Czech officials 
remain skeptical about Iran, and the Iranians were 
unsuccessful at engineering a warming of bilateral relations 
with the Czechs. End summary. 
 
2. (SBU) An Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Prague 
November 28-December 1, on the invitation of the informal 
Czech-Iran Friendship Group in the Czech Parliament.  Two 
Czech deputies appear to have been behind the invitation: 
Vladimir Lastuvka (Social Democrat), Chairman of the Chamber 
of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee, and Stanislav Fischer 
(Communist Party).  The visit was a return visit from one 
that Lastuvka, Fischer and other Czech deputies paid to Iran 
earlier this year.  The Iranian delegation was led by Majlis 
Presiding Board member Hamid Reza Haji-Babaie. 
 
3. (U) The visit generated very little press attention in 
Prague, but a series of fantastic headlines in the Iranian 
press, including that Czech FM Cyril Svoboda plans to visit 
Tehran in early 2006, that the United States had forced the 
unwilling Czechs to host the RFE broadcasting facility, and 
that the Czech Republic supported Iran's right to develop 
nuclear technology and would begin active cooperation.  All 
are incorrect. 
 
4. (C) News that Czech Prime Minister Paroubek had met with 
the group prompted the Ambassador to write to Paroubek on 
December 5 indicating USG concern that the Czech government 
not abandon their traditional tough position towards the 
Iranian regime.  DCM delivered the letter directly to 
Paroubek's Foreign Policy Advisor with a request for better 
and closer cooperation on such sensitive issues. 
 
5. (C) In an effort to determine what actually took place 
during the Iranians visit, Emboffs met separately with 
Chairman Lastuvka; Miloslav Stasek, MFA Director for the 
Middle East and Africa; and representatives from EU 
embassies.  The MFA assured us that there was no truth to any 
of the Iranian claims:  there is no change in the GOCR's 
traditional policy of steps to limit Iranian nuclear 
capabilities; there will be Foreign Minister visit to Tehran; 
the Czechs continue to fully support the broadcasts of 
RFE/RL's Radio Farda (apparently during a call several months 
ago by the Iranian Charge d'Affaires on then-new Deputy FM 
Basta the subject of Radio Farda was raised and rather than 
simply cite the importance of freedom of the press, Basta 
infuriated the Charge by giving a vigorous defense of the 
importance of RFE to Czechoslovak dissidents, noting that the 
Radios' mission remains important).  Other specifics: 
 
-- The "meeting" with PM Paroubek was a drop-by at a meeting 
already taking place in the parliament, later described as an 
"extended handshake."  The MFA believes the drop-by took 
place as a favor to Lastuvka, who represents the left wing of 
Paroubek's CSSD party.  The MFA's Middle East Department 
believes that unlike some other foreign policy issues such as 
the Balkans and China, there is no/no rift between PM 
Paroubek and his Foreign Ministry. Both remain skeptical of 
the Iranians and do not see utility in closer ties at this 
stage. 
 
-- In the end, there was no meeting between the delegation 
and Deputy FM Basta.  Basta was apparently called away at the 
last moment, and when the delegation arrived at the MFA, 
Political Director Martin Povejsil was there to receive them. 
 The delegation stayed only a few minutes.  MFA staff had 
been resistant to any meeting with the delegation, but told 
us that the meeting with Basta (a CSSD appointee) had been 
scheduled for political reasons.  Ambassador had raised our 
concerns about the call directly with FM Svoboda, who 
indicated he was working to prevent a meeting.  (The Iranian 
delegation had canceled a visit scheduled for the previous 
week precisely because they had not been granted any senior 
government appointments.) 
 
-- Aside from meetings with parliamentarians, the only other 
official event in Prague was a brief meeting with Minister of 
Industry and Trade Milan Urban (CSSD), also at the 
parliament.  With the Iranian government enforcing a 
selective trade embargo on the Czechs to protest the Radio 
Farda broadcasts, Urban made a pitch for improved trade 
relations. 
 
 
-- MFA Deputy Minister for Bilateral Relation Tomas Pojar, 
reacting to the presence of the Iranian delegation in town, 
announced to the press: "the visit will not change anything 
in our approach to Iran. We continue to condemn the 
statements of President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad about destroying 
Israel. We will not do anything that would be in 
contravention of the existing EU approach toward Tehran." 
CABANISS