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S E C R E T STATE 129480 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 
TAGS: CASC IR PGOV PHUM PINR PREL PROP PTER IT NZ TU ID
IN, BR, NO, IZ, MU, AE, QA, FR, GM, CA, NL, BE, AU, SW, MX, SF, MY, 
JA, TX, CH 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: URGING IRAN TO RESOLVE AMCIT 
CASES 
 
REF: A. 09STATE94757 
     ¶B. 09BAGHDAD2181 
     ¶C. 09PARIS1046 
     ¶D. 09ASHGABAT993 
 
Classified By: NEA Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request for Embassies Rome, 
Canberra, Ankara, Jakarta, New Delhi, Brasilia, Oslo, 
Baghdad, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Paris, Berlin, Ottawa, The 
Hague, Brussels, Vienna, Stockholm, Mexico City, Pretoria, 
Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Ashgabat, Beijing, and the U.S. Mission 
to the European Union.  Please see the action request in 
paragraph 5. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY.  The Department is closely monitoring the 
cases of six American citizens, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, 
Josh Fattal, Kian Tajbakhsh, Reza Taghavi, and Robert 
Levinson, who are unjustly detained or missing in Iran.  We 
ask action posts to raise these cases with relevant 
interlocutors and request their assistance in urging Iran,s 
leadership ) through the local Iranian Embassy and/or the 
host country,s mission in Tehran ) to resolve these six 
American cases.  The Secretary demonstrated the USG,s 
concern in her August 15 statement calling for the safe 
return of all missing or unjustly detained American citizens 
to the United States as quickly as possible so that they can 
be reunited with their families.  This request was reiterated 
in the Secretary,s December 3 statement to commemorate the 
1,000th day of Robert Levinson,s disappearance.  On November 
25, the White House stated, &The Iranian government cannot 
earn the respect of the international community when it 
violates universal rights, and continues to imprison innocent 
people.8  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------- 
Rationale 
--------- 
 
¶3. (S) The Department is directing selected posts to request 
assistance from the host government (and from Brussels in the 
case of USEU) in pressing the Government of Iran to resolve 
the cases of six American citizens who are missing or 
unjustly detained in Iran, namely: Robert Levinson, who 
disappeared in March 2007 on Kish Island; Kian Tajbakhsh, who 
was sentenced on October 19 to 15 years in prison on charges 
of violating national security; Reza Taghavi, who has been in 
prison without formal charges since May 26, 2008; and Shane 
Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal, who have been detained 
without formal charges since July 31, 2009 when they were 
hiking near the Iranian-Iraqi border. 
 
¶4. (S) The goal of the demarche is to secure support from a 
diverse range of diplomatic allies who can positively 
influence Iran,s decision-making on this critical issue, 
with arguments solely based on humanitarian grounds rather 
than political, to try to take the issue out of the bilateral 
context. 
 
--------------- 
Action Request 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Posts are requested to approach appropriate host 
government officials as soon as feasible and request 
assistance in urging the Iranian government ) through the 
resident Iranian Embassy and/or the host country,s mission 
in Tehran ) to release the six American citizens as a 
humanitarian gesture.  Post should draw from the points in 
paragraph 7, which may be left as a nonpaper. 
 
--------------- 
Objectives 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Posts should seek to achieve the following: 
 
-- Emphasize the United States, commitment to the protection 
of American citizens abroad. 
 
-- Convey that international interest in the six cases will 
remain high until a just outcome is reached. 
 
-- Request the host government,s assistance in pressing the 
Iranians to release the six Americans as a humanitarian 
gesture and sending Iran a message not to politicize their 
cases.  For the case of Robert Levinson, convey the 
importance of resolving his whereabouts. 
 
-- Convey the importance of raising all six cases, not just 
those that are better known, such as the three hikers. 
 
-- Convey to your interlocutors that should the Iranians 
raise the issue of missing or detained Iranian nationals in 
the United States, they should inform the Iranians that the 
United States is willing to consider these concerns once they 
are officially communicated to the Department via the Iranian 
Interests Section at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, 
DC, as the United States has done with its cases via its 
Swiss Protecting Power in Tehran. 
 
--------------------------- 
Talking Points / Non-paper 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Begin talking points / nonpaper: 
 
-- Ensuring the safety and security of American citizens 
overseas is a priority for the United States.  As 
demonstrated in Secretary Clinton,s August 15 statement, the 
United States is deeply concerned about the welfare of our 
American citizens who have been detained or are missing in 
Iran.  These are fundamentally humanitarian concerns; none of 
these people should be used for political gain.  This request 
was reiterated in the Secretary,s December 3 statement to 
commemorate the 1,000th day of Robert Levinson,s 
disappearance.  On November 25, the White House stated, &The 
Iranian government cannot earn the respect of the 
international community when it violates universal rights, 
and continues to imprison innocent people.8   We once again 
urge Iran,s leadership to quickly resolve all outstanding 
American citizen cases. 
 
-- This includes the case of the American scholar, Kian 
Tajbakhsh, who has spent his career working to improve the 
quality of life of the people in Iran, through his work as an 
urban planner.  The government of Iran should commute his 
sentence and immediately release Mr. Tajbakhsh and allow him 
to depart Iran.  On November 25, the White House made a 
statement expressing our concern for Kian,s unjust 
detainment. 
 
-- Regarding the three American hikers, Joshua Fattal, Shane 
Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, who were detained by Iranian 
authorities on July 31, after accidentally crossing the 
border from Iraq, we call on the Iranian government to permit 
these three American citizens immediate contact with their 
families and to release them without further delay. 
 
-- Reza Taghavi, a 71 year-old retired businessman in failing 
health, was taken into custody on May 26, 2008 and remains 
imprisoned without formal charges.  The government of Iran 
should immediately release Mr. Taghavi from detention and 
allow him to depart Iran. 
 
-- We also remain concerned about the case of Robert 
Levinson, who has been missing in Iran since March 9, 2007. 
We call on the Government of Iran to provide any and all 
information it may have on his whereabouts and to assist in 
ensuring his prompt and safe return to the United States. 
 
-- Our goal is to ensure the safe return of all our missing 
or unjustly detained American citizens to the United States 
as quickly as possible so that they can be reunited with 
their families. 
 
End points 
 
----------- 
Background 
----------- 
 
¶8. (C) The hikers: On July 31, Iranian authorities detained 
Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal while hiking near 
the Iraq/Iran border.  On August 11, the Swiss Ambassador to 
Iran received confirmation by phone of the detention of three 
American hikers from the Iranian Vice Minister for Europe, 
and was granted consular access on two occasions, September 
29 and October 29.  The Swiss Ambassador and SPP continue to 
follow up with the MFA and the Iranian Mission in Bern with 
little success despite repeated requests for the three hikers 
to contact their loved ones and for additional consular 
visits.  Having given the Iranian government time to resolve 
the case quietly, the families are now publicizing their 
concerns about their children,s welfare and have enlisted 
Congressional, Executive, and Foreign Mission support.  The 
Secretary released a statement on August 15 on the five AmCit 
cases in Iran (the hikers, Tajbakhsh, and Levinson). 
 
¶9. (C) Kian Tajbakhsh:  Iranian authorities arrested dual 
U.S.-Iranian citizen scholar Kian Tajbakhsh in his home in 
Tehran on July 9 and he remains in prison.  An expert on 
urban planning, he used to work in Iran in association with 
the Open Society Institute.  Kian was sentenced to 15 years 
in prison on October 19 on charges of violating national 
security; he has filed an appeal, but a court date has not 
been set.  In 2007, he was arrested along with 
Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari on charges of 
endangering Iran,s national security and released four 
months later.  According to Iranian media, during the August 
1 show trial Tajbakhsh and Iranian-Canadian Newsweek reporter 
Maziar Bahari both &confessed8 to being part of a 
conspiracy funded by Western NGOs and propagated by the media 
to bring about a victory for Mousavi.  Tajbakhsh,s family is 
actively raising his case with the media and has requested 
USG involvement in doing the same. 
 
¶10. (C) Reza Taghavi:  Iranian authorities arrested dual 
U.S.-Iranian citizen Reza Taghavi in his home in Tehran on 
May 26, 2008 and he remains in prison.  He has been accused 
of espionage and fomenting a &velvet8 revolution, although 
no official charges have been lodged against him.  He was 
initially held in the political section of Evin Prison, but 
has since been moved to the &normal8 section of the prison. 
 The Taghavi family initially did not seek USG involvement, 
due to the potential negative affect it could have on his 
case.  The family changed their minds following the 
cancellation of his court hearing on August 10.  Mr. Taghavi 
appeared before a court on November 25, where he asked for 
his release, but the judge did not make any comments; another 
trial date has been set for February 18, 2010.  Pierre 
Prosper, attorney and former Ambassador of War Crimes Issues, 
represents the Taghavi case in the U.S. 
 
¶11. (S) Robert Levinson:  The former FBI agent was last seen 
on Kish Island on March 9, 2007.  Although the Iranians 
consistently deny knowing what happened to Levinson, we have 
strong reason to suspect that he is being detained in Iran. 
Levinson family members continue to lobby for greater USG 
activity and media attention to the case.  While Iranian 
authorities promised the Levinson family they would share the 
results of their investigation, that promise has yet to be 
fulfilled. 
 
---------------------- 
Reporting Requirement 
---------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Post is instructed to report the results of its 
efforts by January 8. 
 
---------------- 
Point of Contact 
---------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Department POCs for follow-up are: Michael G. Spring, 
NEA/IR, 202-647-2516, SpringMG@State.gov; Brianne Marwaha, 
NEA/IR, 202-647-2569, MarwahaBC@State.gov; and Carolee 
Walker, CA/OCS/ACS/NESCA, 202-647-4997, WalkerCB@State.gov 
 
¶14. (U) Department thanks posts for its assistance.  Please 
slug all responses for NEA/IR, CA, P, and the NSC. 
CLINTON