VZCZCXRO6216
PP RUEHBC RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHDE #3131/01 1441530
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P R 241530Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0867
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 3824
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 003131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/24/2031 
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR PHUM
SUBJECT: JEWISH MP: NO CHANGE IN SITUATION FOR IRANIAN JEWS BUT 
WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE 
 
REF: DUBAI 52 
 
DUBAI 00003131  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L Burns, Acting Consul General, Dubai, 
UAE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
1.(S) Summary:  Following his visa interview May 2 (clearance 
still pending), the member of the Iranian parliament in the 
designated Jewish seat, Morris Motamed (please protect), 
discussed the current situation for Jews in Iran.  He reported 
no change in their situation to date, but he is concerned this 
could change in the future and asked how the US would respond. 
He recommended no change to US policy towards Iran but worried 
about the impact of sanctions.  This meeting occurred prior to 
the press allegations that a new law in Iran would require 
religious minorities to wear identifying badges.  Although 
PolEconChief has not been able to confirm directly with Motamed 
that the story is untrue, Motamed was quoted in the press 
denying it, and another representative of the Tehran Jewish 
community told PolEconChief it was false. End summary. 
 
So Far No Change But Worried about Future 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2.(S) Iranian Jewish Majlis member Morris Motamed (please 
protect) applied May 2 for a visa to meet with Iranian Jewish 
communities in the US, as he has done many times in the past. 
(Note: his visa clearance is still pending.)  After his 
interview, he discussed the current situation for Jews in Iran 
with PolEconChief.  He said that to date, there has been no 
change in the situation in Iran for Jews.  Nonetheless, he is 
worried that with the current hardline government, there is the 
possibility of a deterioration. 
 
3.(S) Motamed hears that people from all religious minorities 
are emigrating from Iran in greater numbers.  In the past, when 
people asked him whether or not to stay in Iran, he discouraged 
them from leaving.  However, he said, this is no longer the 
case.  He is even considering immigrating himself at some point 
in the future. 
 
Relationship with Government 
---------------------------- 
 
4.(S) Motamed claimed that the government is generally 
responsive to his requests, though it was clear he had closer 
relations with the previous administration.  He asserted that 
after he protested last year in the Majles - with the support of 
Majles Speaker Hadad-Adel - about anti-Semitic content in 
broadcasting, incidences  declined.  Prior to Ahmadinejad's trip 
to the UN last year, he tried to convince the president to meet 
with Iranian Jews in the US.  However, when Iranian Jewish 
groups were noncommittal about a meeting, Ahmadinejad took 
insult and indicated he would not agree to a meeting. 
 
5.(S) Even before Ahmadinejad made his first statements about 
the Holocaust, Motamed sent the president a letter protesting an 
inflammatory article in the hardline Keyhan newspaper.  After 
Ahmadinejad started making Holocaust denial statements, 
prominent Iranians, including former President Khatami and 
former Majlis Speaker Karroubi, joined him in condemnation. 
Motamed thinks that Ahmadinejad, under pressure, has since 
tempered his comments from Holocaust denial to something more 
caveated ("if true, then...").  In his assessment, the 
government is clearly becoming more militarized, and Ahmadinejad 
is not up to the job. 
 
Advice to/Request of the US 
--------------------------- 
 
6.(S) Motamed recommended no change to current US policy towards 
Iran.  He was worried, however, about the potential impact of 
broad sanctions on Iran.  Since the US controls most of Iran's 
borders now, he said, fewer smuggled goods would get in than in 
the case of Iraq before the war. 
 
7.(S) He asked if there was any thinking about how the USG would 
react if conditions for Jews in Iran turned very bad quickly. 
PolEconChief responded that if there were indications of a 
coming large outflow of refugees from Iran, we would likely take 
immediate steps to accommodate and process them outside the 
country, as we had in the lead-up to the Iraq war.  A situation 
where Jews were threatened inside Iran and could not leave the 
country would, of course, require more thought. 
 
8.(S) Motamed made a more immediate request for speedier asylum 
processing in Vienna, saying some people were required to stay 
there four to six months - and even longer - at great hardship. 
 
DUBAI 00003131  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
Badge Story Denied 
------------------ 
 
9.(S) This meeting with Motamed occurred prior to the 
allegations in the Canadian press that a new law in Iran would 
require religious minorities to wear identifying badges. 
Although PolEconChief has not been able to confirm directly with 
Motamed that the story was untrue, Motamed was quoted in the 
press as denying it.  Furthermore, in a meeting this week, a 
representative of the Tehran Jewish community introduced to 
PolEconChief by Motamed called the report false.  A notable 
Iranian political analyst and Tehran University political 
science professor told PolEconChief that such a law would be 
"impossible" in Iran, a view echoed by another contact. 
 
Other Issues 
------------ 
 
10.(S) Motamed claimed Iranian Jews have no problem now 
traveling back and forth between Iran and Israel (though they do 
not travel directly), thanks in large part to his efforts (Ref). 
 He said he is also helping people who left Iran in prior years 
with no travel documents get permission to visit Iran.  He has 
no updates, however, on the cases of the eleven Jews missing 
since the 1990s, although he continues to seek information. 
 
11.(S) Jews, as well as all minorities, are required to perform 
military service.  While Jews can serve as officers during their 
mandatory service if they have a university degree, they cannot 
be career military officers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
12.(S) Motamed made clear he saw no current deterioration of the 
situation for Jews, but his request for advanced planning in 
case of a future change is worth considering.  While we have not 
heard the government make any such threats, it is possible Iran 
could retaliate against its Jewish community in case of a 
foreign, particularly Israeli, military attack.  Separately, it 
is in USG interest that Motamed's visa be issued as he serves as 
an important link between the Iranian Jewish community and the 
outside world. 
BURNS