VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBD #0112 0880600
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 290600Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3785
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0007

Thursday, 29 March 2007, 06:00
C O N F I D E N T I A L BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000112 
SIPDIS 
SIPDIS 
EO 12958 DECL: 03/29/2017 
TAGS AORC, BX, EFIN, IAEA, IR, KNNP, MNUC, PARM, TRGY, UNSC 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO BRUNEI ON UNSCR 1747 AND IRAN SANCTIONS 
REF: SECSTATE 37801
Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, reasons 1.4(B) and (D)
¶1. (U) Ambassador delivered reftel points on March 29 to Datin Maimunah, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bilateral and Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. MFAT Desk Officer for Middle East Latifah Zaini attended meeting as notetaker. Reftel talking points and text of UNSCR 1747 were left as non-papers.
¶2. (C) In response to demarche, Maimunah said the MFAT had already received text of UNSCR 1747 from its UN Mission and was aware of requirement for UN member states to implement its provisions. Maimunah told Ambassador that she and her MFAT colleagues had been discussing Iran’s motivation for the recent seizure of British sailors, and she believed that it may have been done for domestic reasons, in order to help President Ahmadi-Nejad divert Iranian attention away from the bad news of passage of UNSCR 1747. That would indicate that Ahmadi-Nejad was starting to feel a bit of heat. Maimunah agreed with Ambassador’s observation that Iranian opinion was not monolithic and there may be growing concern within Iran about the mounting costs of Ahmadi-Nejad’s unwavering defiance of international opinion on the nuclear issue.
¶3. (C) Ambassador emphasized that Annex II of UNSCR 1747 renewed the P5-plus-one offer of a long-term agreement with Iran if it suspended its proliferation-related activities and returned to negotiations, and that this “carrot” should bolster the arguments of those within Iran who believed that the costs of noncompliance with the relevant UNSCR’s was becoming unacceptable. Maimunah welcomed extension of the offer, noting it was important to show the Iranians there was a way out of the situation they had worked themselves into. Ambassador urged the Government of Brunei to point out the value of the P5-plus-one offer in its contacts with the Government of Iran and encourage its acceptance. SKODON