Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - March 30, 2000 - The Proposal from IRIB Officials for an Interview on Islam and the Revolution's View on Assassination

The proposal from IRIB officials to Hashemi for an interview regarding Islam and the Revolution's stance on assassination, which was ultimately another targeted effort to manage the narrative surrounding Saeed Hajjarian's assassination, was met with Hashemi's negative response.

A report from the Deputy Minister of Intelligence on the confessions of Saeed Asgar and the internal disagreements over the management of the intelligence case.

Mr. Ali Larijani, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), along with Ali Aghamohammadi, the political deputy, and Mohammad Sarafraz, the foreign media deputy, visited. They insisted that I give an interview regarding Islam and the Revolution’s position on assassination, which I declined. I also criticized the excessive coverage of the assassination in the news.

Ayatollah Khamenei also has criticisms; they have acted passively and have failed to satisfy anyone. We discussed how to coordinate media coverage and possible strategies. There is concern over the judiciary potentially yielding to pressure to delay the trial and reopen the serial murder cases, as well as the role of the Ministry of Intelligence, which might not hand over the case to the judiciary in a timely manner.

Mr. Amir Tehrani, Deputy for Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Intelligence, came. He said that the suspects have openly confessed, and Saeed Asgar, who shot Mr. Hajjarian, claims his motivations were rooted in Hajjarian's ideological and behavioral issues, specifically his role in weakening the Revolution, Islam, the clergy, and Imam Khomeini, and in disrespecting the Prophet (PBUH) and the Ahl al-Bayt.

Tehrani is also concerned that leftist elements might manipulate the case for political purposes. He mentioned that even though Mr. Ali Younesi, the Minister of Intelligence, gave an interview to appease the reformists and said what they wanted to hear, he is now being criticized by them because he stated that the suspects have no political affiliations and acted independently. He is upset and told Mr. Ebad (Ali Rabiei) that if he had integrity, he would admit that the content of the interview was based on his own suggestions.

Tehrani further added that the reformists do not trust Mr. Mohammad Shafiee, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence, and that President Khatami has instructed Younesi that the case should not be under Shafiee’s control. The case is now in the hands of Mr. Ali Bagheri, the Special Deputy, who is also aligned with the reformists. However, they want to transfer it to someone they trust more, which has caused division within the Ministry.

In the evening, Effat and some of the children, who had traveled to Kerman, Bam, and Rafsanjan, returned.