Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - July 1, 2000 - Verdict Announced for Those Accused of Spying for Mossad by the Judiciary of Fars Province

Morning discussions in the [Expediency Council] revolved around the Joint Commission for General Policies in the communications sector. After extensive discussions, it was agreed that specialized commissions would bring forth the relevant parts of the policy—both hardware and software sections. Mr. [Ali] Larijani [Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)] came and requested support to strengthen the Judiciary to resist internal pressures and foreign media.

Later, my children were at my office. Mehdi mentioned that he had met with [President Mohammad] Khatami and provided him with documents showing the attacks from some of his associates on our family. Khatami admitted these actions were inappropriate.

In the afternoon, Engineer [Akbar] Torkan [Head of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran] visited. He mentioned that he had undergone a kidney transplant but was doing well and working comfortably. He reported satisfactory conditions in the automotive industry but described the general state of industries and the economy as stagnant. He also criticized the Ministry of Roads and Transportation for not taking the Kerman-Zahidan railway and the Zanjan-Tabriz highway projects seriously. In general, he felt there was a lack of significant progress on highway projects.

The results of the second round of the Tehran elections were announced: [Elias] Hazrati and [Ali-Akbar] Mohtashami-Pour were elected with a very small number of votes. Voter turnout was incredibly low, with only about 160,000 out of roughly four million eligible voters participating. The media reported that around one percent of Tehran’s population voted.

Attacks from right-wing media against the government and parliament are increasing. The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom issued a harsh statement against the Parliament due to the Press Law and [Ayatollah Mohammad Fadil] Lankarani [one of the prominent religious scholars] expressed criticism in his meeting with [Mehdi] Karroubi, the Speaker of Parliament, regarding various policies and behaviors. Additionally, Mr. [Ebrahim] Nekounam from the Special Clerical Court wrote an open letter to President [Mohammad] Khatami, criticizing him for not responding to questions from a judge and for his remarks about the Judiciary during the [Judiciary’s annual conference]. Nekounam sharply attacked Khatami’s cultural, economic, and political policies, accusing him of blaming the previous government for his management failures while simultaneously taking credit for inaugurating projects from the past administration.

The verdict for 13 Jews accused of spying was announced: some were acquitted, and others received sentences ranging from two to 13 years. The verdicts were lighter than expected, but the United States, Israel, and the European Union still deemed them harsh and condemned the decision, calling for international pressure on Iran.