VZCZCXRO6257
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHMOS RUEHPW
DE RUEHTU #0647/01 0800924
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 210924Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0155
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 000647 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/MAG FOR LAWRENCE 
NEA/FO FOR DONICK, CUTRONA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO KMPI TS
SUBJECT: A/S WELCH AND FM ABDALLAH ON IRAN, ISRAEL, SUDAN, 
LEBANON 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William Hudson for Reasons 1.4 b & d 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  In a meeting March 15 in Tunis, FM Abdallah 
told A/S David Welch that during a recent trip to Iran he 
reinforced Tunisia's position supporting the peaceful use of 
nuclear energy, but condemning any proliferation of nuclear 
or chemical weapons.  Abdallah claimed he petitioned his 
Iranian interlocutors for moderation and dialogue.  Abdallah 
said that perhaps concern about Hamas' political future could 
be eased if the party was to sign on to the Arab League's 
Beirut declaration, despite A/S Welch's insistence that such 
a move was necessary, but not sufficient, because it did not 
explicitly recognize Israel or denounce terrorism.  On a 
potential UN peacekeeping force for Sudan, Abdallah said 
Sudan's position seemed to fluctuate, and that Tunisia had 
little influence on Sudan.  Abdallah agreed with A/S Welch 
that public opinion in Lebanon was strongly behind the 
removal of President Lahoud, due largely to his ties to 
Syria, but that the mechanism to do so remained to be found. 
(Discussion of domestic issues will be covered septel.) End 
Summary. 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶2. (C) Abdallah began by describing his February trip to 
Iran.  He said that the visit had been planned "for months" 
and that during his trip he tried to explain the GOT position 
on nuclear energy and proliferation both privately and 
publicly at press conferences.  Abdallah said the GOT is "for 
the peaceful and economic use of nuclear power, but is 
totally opposed to all proliferation of nuclear and chemical 
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction."  Abdallah 
claimed that Iranian FM Manoucher Mottaki said Iran fully 
agreed with this position.  Abdallah said he "spoke about 
Iran's recent actions and comments," and said that "current 
events were dangerous for the whole region".  Abdallah said 
he tried to "push moderation and dialogue."  Abdallah 
reported that in meetings with Iranian President Ahmadinejad 
and Expediency Council Chairman and former President 
Rafsanjani, neither official mentioned the nuclear issue. 
Abdallah concluded that it appeared there was no unified 
policy on the nuclear issue among the Iranian leadership. He 
speculated that part of the behavior stemmed from a 
characteristic Iranian tendency to push the limits of 
acceptable international behavior because of the "historic 
megalomania of the Iranian regime," or that the Iranians are 
simply lying.  Finally, Abdallah noted that his conversations 
offered no overt signs that Iran was preparing itself for an 
aggressive move on the weapons front, at least "at the 
psychological level."  A/S Welch outlined for Abdallah USG 
next steps on Iran in the UNSC. 
 
¶3. (C)  A/S Welch queried Abdallah whether Qatar, which is 
currently on the UNSC, regularly consulted with other Arab 
nations to form opinion on UNSC issues, given that Qatar 
claims to represent Arab opinion on the council.  Abdallah 
said that he could not speak for other Arab countries, but 
that Qatar had not consulted with Tunisia in the past.  A/S 
Welch urged that Tunisia should take the initiative to make 
its views known to Qatar on relevant UNSC issues.  Abdallah 
said each Arab UNSC member seemed to exercise its 
respresentation mandate differently.  Algeria, for example, 
liked to grandstand and go off in directions that did not 
necessarily reflect Arab consensus.  Qatar's approach was as 
of yet unknown.  A/S Welch added that Qatar was seeking a 
Presidential statement on the recent incident in Jericho, and 
that we found such a statement unacceptable. 
 
Israel/Hamas 
------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Turning to Hamas and the March 28-29 Arab League 
summit in Khartoum, A/S Welch asked what political standard 
the AL would establish for Hamas.  Noting the view that Hamas 
should reinforce AL declarations supporting peace talks with 
Israel, A/S Welch explained that such a policy would be 
necessary, but not sufficient.  None of these agreements 
explicitly accepted the existence of Israel or excluded the 
use of terrorism and violence as political tools. 
 
¶5. (C) Abdallah countered that "for all Arab leaders, the 
recognition of Israel exists -- because of the Beirut, Tunis, 
and Algiers Summits."  He noted that now, "no Arab leader can 
make a speech and say that he doesn't recognize Israel."  He 
said that the best proof of this is that no Arab country 
supports Hamas without conditions; everyone agrees that Hamas 
has to "make necessary steps: they must reject violence and 
adopt new conditions as a governing party."  Abdallah 
 
TUNIS 00000647  002 OF 002 
 
 
commented that such an opinion is well known "in the 
corridors" of the Arab League.  He persisted that perhaps the 
solution would be for Hamas to indicate recognition of Israel 
through the adoption of the Beirut declaration, and 
emphasized that this idea was "circulating among many Arab 
delegations." 
 
Sudan 
----- 
 
¶6. (C) A/S Welch said the USG would like to see a UN 
peacekeeping operation in Sudan that would reinforce the 
current African Union peacekeeping mission.  A/S Welch 
mentioned that some Arab countries had asked for more time to 
accept the idea of a Sudan UN PKO, but that the USG was 
uncomfortable with this answer given the ongoing conflict and 
the high casualties that would occur during such a delay, 
especially in Darfur.  He explained that Darfur was of 
paramount importance in the U.S. both for humanitarian and 
political reasons. 
 
¶7. (C)  Abdallah pointed out Tunisia's long history of 
participation in international peacekeeping missions.  He 
said he was somewhat confused by Sudan's position, noting 
that while in Cairo for the AL Foreign Ministers meeting in 
early March, he listened to the Sudanese minister clearly 
state that "should UN troops or a foreign party enter Sudan 
to replace or consolidate the AU mission, Sudan would 
withdraw from the AU."  However, Abdallah said, three days 
later he heard from EU Commissioner Solana that Sudanese 
President Bashir, in a meeting with Deputy Secretary 
Zoellick, agreed to a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan.  He 
noted that Sudan's position "seems to change quite rapidly" 
but that at any rate Sudan would likely want to wait until at 
least July or August to have time to review the implications 
of any UN proposal.  A/S Welch noted that given ongoing 
killings in Darfur, such a delay would be impossible for the 
USG and the international community to accept. Responding to 
a comment by A/S Welch raising the possibility of a limited, 
planning and logisitics role for NATO in a Sudan PKO, 
Abdallah said that even if NATO only provided logistical 
support in Sudan, it would greatly complicate, or even render 
impossible, a PKO proposal.  Finally, Abdallah explained that 
Tunisia had only minimal influence on Sudan, due largely to a 
period of suspension of diplomatic relations that began in 
1992 due to Sudan's alleged support of the banned Tunisian 
Islamic party En-Nahdha, considered by the GOT to be a 
terrorist organization.  (NB: Diplomatic relations between 
Sudan and Tunisia were reestablished in 2000).  Abdallah also 
commented that Libya was very concerned about Darfur, mainly 
because of the role of Chad. 
 
Syria/Lebanon 
------------- 
 
¶8. (C) A/S Welch highlighted clear national consensus in 
Lebanon that President Lahoud, due to his ties to Syria, 
should no longer remain in power.  A/S Welch said the USG is 
convinced such a move would help Lebanon.  Abdallah said he 
was also aware of that much of the Lebanese public supported 
Lahoud's removal; all that remained was finding a mechanism 
to do so. 
HUDSON