VZCZCXRO3824
OO RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK RUEHTRO
DE RUEHUNV #0242/01 1471252
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 271252Z MAY 09
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9501
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNNAR/VIENNA NARCOTICS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 0260
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0292
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME IMMEDIATE 0454
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI IMMEDIATE 0062

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 UNVIE VIENNA 000242 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2023 
TAGS: PREL SNAR AF PAK IR IT
SUBJECT: ITALIAN COUNTERNARCOTICS COOPERATION WITH IRAN 
GOOD, BUT VARIABLE 
 
UNVIE VIEN 00000242  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte for reasons 1.4 (c) and (e 
) 
 
¶1.  (C)   Summary.  On May 20, Msnoff met with an Italian 
counterpart, Marco Prencipe, who recently left a four-year 
post in Tehran to discuss the effectiveness of Iranian 
cooperation with the Italians on counternarcotics efforts. 
For the most part, cooperation has been successful, and Italy 
and Iran have signed a number of memoranda of understanding 
(MOUs), most of which focus on judicial and police 
cooperation and are technical in nature.  However, when 
international pressure on Iran increased in 2006, the 
bilateral counternarcotics relationship suffered and Italy 
was forced to work solely through multilateral fora. 
Prencipe argued that U.S.-Iranian counternarcotics 
cooperation is possible, but that Iran has a different 
concept of time and does not feel any urgency to cooperate, 
despite its probable interest in engagement.  Nevertheless, 
Italy wants to use its G-8 presidency to convey that Iran is 
important and should be engaged.  Iran can be part of the 
solution, but we need to recognize its positive role as well 
as its negative role.  At the same time, Prencipe argued, 
Iran needs to show that it can be a constructive part of the 
solution.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
Italian Cooperation Focused on Technical, Regional Approaches 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶2.  (C)   Italian Msnoff Marco Prencipe, who left a four-year 
post in Tehran last fall, told Msnoff on May 20 that, in 
general, bilateral cooperation between Italy and Iran on 
counternarcotics has been good since it first posted a drug 
liaison officer (DLO) to Tehran and increased bilateral 
cooperation in 2005.  (Comment:  UNODC recently told Msnoff 
that the Italians have the only outstanding Western drug 
liaison officer posted to Iran.  End Comment.)  Italy and 
Iran have signed a number of memoranda of understanding 
(MOUs), most of which focus on judicial and police 
cooperation and are technical in nature.  Cooperation has 
focused on countertrafficking, especially of precursors and 
psychotropics, and a joint agreement on security and 
transnational crime.  Iran and Italy do a few exchanges each 
year which include training, most of which happens in Italy 
and is centered on programs for judges and magistrates. 
These exchanges largely happen between the anti-mafia units 
in Italy and the Iranian Judiciary.  Iran has also been 
interested in how Italian data collection and processing is 
done in the judiciary and police forces. 
 
¶3.  (C)   When Iranian Drug Control Headquarters Head 
Moghadam was in Vienna for the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 
he met with the head of the Italian delegation, which 
Prencipe noted was unusual. They discussed demand reduction 
efforts, and Iran was interested in Italy,s comprehensive 
approach to the issue, which Prencipe perceives as very close 
to the U.S. approach. 
 
¶4.  (C)   Prencipe believes that the Italian bilateral 
relationship on counternarcotics works where other 
relationships with the West have failed because Iran sees a 
political value to countering its international isolation, 
and Italy has been a long-term partner on a variety of 
issues.  Nevertheless, he noted that it is sometimes 
difficult for their DLO to keep close contact with his 
Iranian interlocutors and in 2006, when the international 
pressure on Iran increased, Italy, too, was forced to work 
through multilateral fora on counternarcotics. 
 
¶5.  (C)   Prencipe argued that Iran has a real interest in 
the counternarcotics issue and thus, cooperation with the 
U.S. might be possible.  However, to make a decision to 
engage with the U.S., even on this issue, Iranian leaders 
will need to present cooperation to the elite and the public 
as justifiable.  Iran does not feel any urgency to engage on 
the issue, he said, because Iran has a different concept of 
time than the West, but Iran,s failure to move quickly does 
not mean that Iran does not take the opportunity to engage 
seriously.  "They probably do," he noted.  At the same time, 
Iran wants to capitalize on the "credit" they feel they 
deserve for their work to stabilize Afghanistan and counter 
narcotics trafficking. 
 
¶6.  (C)   Prencipe also stressed Italy,s focus on a regional 
approach to drug control and his government,s belief that 
Iran can play a positive role in a regional approach if they 
 
UNVIE VIEN 00000242  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
choose to.  This is why Rome invited Italy to the upcoming G8 
meeting in Trieste.  Italy wants to use its G8 presidency to 
convey that Iran is important and that "we" need to engage 
Iran.  Iran can be part of the solution, but we need to 
recognize its positive role as well as its negative role.  At 
the same time, Prencipe argued, Iran needs to show that it 
can be a constructive part of the solution. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Saberi Arrest Probably a Negotiating Tool 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)   Prencipe noted that he knew Roxana Saberi 
personally from his time in Iran and was surprised when she 
was arrested and sentenced so heavily given her lack of focus 
on politics.  Unlike Esfandiareh, whose arrest was likely 
because of her more political nature, Saberi,s work was more 
like a diary and focused on Iranian culture.  Prencipe,s 
personal view was that her arrest was currency for the 
dialogue with the U.S., and he had not been worried that she 
would be held for long.  He did note, however, that the 
Iranian government sometimes does punish people for perceived 
slights to Iranian culture, citing the fact that Golshifteh 
Farahani, a famous Iranian actress who starred opposite 
Leonardo diCaprio in Body of Lies, was not allowed back to 
Iran because of the loose adherence to Islamic values that 
she displayed in the film.  Prencipe also noted that the 
President,s Nowruz speech was effective and that it "looked 
like an Iranian wrote it."  He said that from his 
perspective, this speech "puts the ball in Iran,s court." 
SCHULTE