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FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8098
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 000052 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2020 
TAGS: PINR ETRD EUN PGOV PREL IR PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL'S POLICY TOWARD IRAN SANCTIONS 
(C-RE9-02696) 
 
REF: A. STATE 8682 
     ¶B. 09 LISBON 598 
     ¶C. 09 LISBON 531 
     ¶D. 09 LISBON 518 
     ¶E. 09 LISBON 495 
     ¶F. 09 LISBON 146 
     ¶G. 08 LISBON 685 
 
Classified By: Poleconoff Mario Fernandez, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
 ¶1. (U) This message responds to questions in ref A request. 
 
¶2. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question A: Are decisions on this 
topic made solely by prime minister Jose Socrates or Foreign 
Minister Amado, or is there a team of government officials 
making decisions?  If multiple officials are involved in 
decisionmaking on this topic, which officials and what level 
of influence does each have?  What are the interpersonal 
dynamics among the decisionmakers? 
 
Answer: Decisions on Iran sanctions are made by the 
Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  The senior 
official responsible is Ambassador Nuno Brito, the Political 
Director of the MFA.  Brito is close to Foreign Minister Luis 
Amado.  There are three action offices within the MFA 
responsible for Iran issues: a) Middle East and Maghreb 
Affairs; b) Common Foreign and Security Policy; and c) 
International Political Organizations.  Our contacts report 
that decisions on Iran very "rarely" make it to PM Socrates 
and "never" to President Cavaco Silva. 
 
The Directorate of Middle East and Maghreb Affairs has 
overall policy coordination for Iran issues.  The office 
director is Joao Neves da Costa, a bushy-haired, bearded, 
bespectacled, comic book-loving 45-year old who looks 
somewhat out of place at the stolidly formal MFA.  Though 
Costa has never been to the U.S., he nonetheless has a 
surprisingly extensive knowledge of U.S. domestic politics, 
culture, and films, and exudes enthusiasm for President 
Obama.  "We're running parallel with the U.S. on Iran 
sanctions," he asserted February 2.  It was Costa who 
accompanied Political Director Brito on his trip to Tehran in 
March 2009 (ref F). 
 
The Directorate of Common Foreign and Security Policy handles 
sanctions in general.  The Office is headed by Joao Ribeiro 
de Almeida, a million-words-a-minute interlocutor who knows 
Iran issues cold but is usually too busy to meet and often 
refers us to various underlings, none of whom has his command 
of issues.  A lawyer by training, Almeida is 47 years old. 
He told us September 27 that Portugal was "on the same line" 
as the U.S. on the Iran nuclear program (ref D). 
 
The Directorate of International Political Organizations 
handles U.N. affairs, under which Iran issues often fall. 
The Director of the office is Carlos Costa Neves, but the 
lead on Iran is Sara Martins, a 30-something lawyer who 
previously worked at Portugal's mission to the UN and is an 
expert on, and somewhat passionate about, human rights issues. 
 
Although we have not seen the three offices interact, they 
seem to coordinate well and often refer questions to each 
other.  Post has not noticed differences in policy 
pronouncements by the different offices and it is often clear 
that there is a high level of coordination. 
 
¶3. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question B: Has Lisbon determined its 
policy on additional unilateral sanctions against Iran, or is 
it still formulating the policy? 
 
Answer: The GOP has been very clear on a number of occasions 
(ref C,D, and E) that it will follow the EU consensus on Iran 
sanctions.  Post notes that Portugal has shown occasional 
flashes of independence when the EU has been unable to forge 
a consensus. 
 
¶4. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question C: Are there any 
disagreements among Portugal's ministries on Lisbon's Iran 
sanctions policy? 
 
Answer: According to Neves da Costa, the MFA is currently in 
consultations with the Ministries of Finance and Economy to 
ensure that Iran sanctions policy does not adversely affect 
the Portuguese economy.  Because Portugal has little trade 
with Iran, however, these ministries' role is minimal.  See 
para 5. 
 
¶5. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question D: To what extent are other 
factors, such as Portugal's economic interests, the view of 
 
LISBON 00000052  002 OF 002 
 
 
the majority of EU members, or regional stability in the 
Middle East playing a role in decisionmaking regarding 
Portugal's Iran sanctions policy? 
 
Answer: Portugal has very little trade with Iran, primarily 
because Portugal's economy opened up in the last 20 years, 
after sanctions against Iran were already in place.  As Neves 
da Costa put it, "We arrived too late to have much trade with 
Iran."  Portugal's trade with Iran totals less than 40M Euros 
a year, while Iranian oil represents about 9 percent of 
Portugal's oil imports.  Neves da Costa asserted that 
Portugal has an unspoken policy not to import more than 10 
percent from any one country to minimize dependency; thus, 
Portugal could "easily" replace its Iranian oil imports with 
oil from another country if the need arose. 
 
Despite these representations, Portugal is increasingly more 
adept at practicing economic diplomacy -- the Portuguese 
relationship with Venezuela comes to mind -- and Post 
believes that the GOP will likely keep its options open in 
the hope that GALP Energia, Portugal's largest energy 
corporation, may be able to do business with Iran in the 
future. 
 
In early 2008, GALP was engaged in discussions with Iran's 
National Oil Company, but GALP's largest shareholder told the 
U.S. Ambassador in March 2008 that GALP had no intention of 
signing an agreement in the current political environment and 
would not move beyond the exploratory phase without his full 
knowledge and approval (ref G).  In January 2010, in several 
meetings on the margins of the annual U.S.-Portugal Bilateral 
Commission Meeting in Washington, D.C., MFA Political 
Director Brito struck a similar note, telling Under Secretary 
of State Burns, as well as several assistant secretaries, 
that Portugal had no intention of furthering its economic 
relationship with Iran at this time. 
 
¶6. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question E: Lisbon has sought to 
maintain ties with Iran while also maintaining EU sanctions. 
Are Portuguese leaders concerned about inconsistent policy or 
reaction from EU partners and domestic political rivals? 
 
Answer: One of the pillars of Portuguese foreign policy is 
its relationship with other EU members.  Thus, so long as an 
EU position exists, Portugal will follow it.  At the same 
time, Portugal has enjoyed a long diplomatic relationship 
with Iran that dates back to the 16th Century.  For that 
reason, and to keep its economic options open as discussed in 
para 5, it is unlikely that when there is no EU consensus, 
Portugal will adopt an independent stance critical of Iran. 
 
¶7. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question F: What signs, if any, 
indicate that Portugal is becoming more or less supportive of 
EU sanctions?  Why does Post judge Lisbon does not take a 
more outspoken stance on sanctions? 
 
Answer: Portugal, namesake of the Lisbon Treaty, which aims 
to integrate EU foreign policy among other things, will be 
increasingly more likely to follow EU consensus on Iran and 
other global issues.  In addition, as one of the poorer 
nations in the EU, Portugal does not see itself as a heavy 
hitter, with the wherewithal to adopt policies independent of 
the EU consensus.  "It's just not warranted by our size," 
Neves da Costa explained. 
 
¶8. (C/REL TO USA, FVEY) Question G: Are Portuguese business 
groups lobbying for Lisbon to take a more defensive position 
on sanctions?  More specifically, who are these groups 
targeting within government? 
 
Answer: According to Neves da Costa, the GOP has faced no 
pressure from business groups regarding Iran sanctions.  As 
noted, Post believes that the GOP and GALP Energy, of which 
it is a minority shareholder, are actively keeping their 
options open regarding future investments in Iran. 
 
 
For more reporting from Embassy Lisbon and information about Portugal, 
please see our Intelink site: 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/portal:port ugal 
BALLARD