VZCZCXRO4037
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #0964 1741256
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231256Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9419
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000964 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2027 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IR KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
SUBJECT: KUWAITIS SEE INTIMIDATION, RETRIBUTION BEHIND 
ATTACK ON KUWAITI DIPLOMAT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (U)  Unknown assailants attacked Mohammad Al-Zo'bi, a low 
ranking diplomat at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Tehran, as he was 
leaving work on June 19.  The Kuwait cabinet convened an 
emergency session the same day to discuss the event and the 
MFA called Iranian Ambassador Ali Jennati in immediately to 
deliver a strongly-worded condemnation of the incident. 
According to press reports, MFA Undersecretary Jarallah told 
Jennati that the GOK holds Iran responsible for failing to 
protect Al-Zo'bi.  The Iranian Ambassador assured Jarallah 
that the perpetrators did not represent the Iranian 
government.  He apologized and promised that his government 
would launch an investigation. 
 
¶2.  (U)  Kuwaitis angrily accused the Iranian government of 
complicity since the beating allegedly occured directly in 
front of the embassy, which is guarded by Iranian security 
forces.  The Al-Watan Arabic daily reported that Iranian 
security guards initially attempted to intervene to stop the 
beating but were stopped by Iranian Revolutionary Guard 
(Baseej) forces, who allowed the attackers to beat Al-Zo'bi. 
Other newspapers were less conspiratorial in their reporting 
of the details, but vigorous in condemning the event.  One 
columnist wrote in the June 23 edition of the Al-Qabas: "it 
is clear the attack comes from a governmental party" and that 
it is "official terrorism."  The columnist went on to 
speculate that radicals in Iran were trying to drive a wedge 
between Iran and the Arabs.  The Al-Anbaa daily ran a story 
on the front page of its June 20 edition quoting an expert 
who said that 20 members of an extremist group had carried 
out the attack in an attempt to intimidate Kuwait and other 
Gulf Arab countries who are cooperating with Iran's enemies 
(especially the U.S). 
 
¶3.  (C)  MFA Iran desk officer Mansour Al-Olaimi told PolOff 
on June 20 that he thought the incident in Tehran was a 
reaction to a complaint by an Iranian diplomat in Kuwait who 
claimed he had been harassed.  In an earlier meeting on June 
10 MFA Undersecretary Jarallah told the Ambassador that these 
allegations had been raised with Jarallah by the Iranian 
Ambassador to Kuwait. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
 
LeBaron