Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - December 4, 1999 - Efforts Must Be Made to Prevent the U.S. and Europe From Uniting Against Us

Efforts Must Be Made to Prevent the U.S. and Europe From Uniting Against Us / Mars probe reaches the Martian atmosphere after traveling 750 million kilometers

Purchase of Professor Adl's Historic House for the Expediency Council and Hashemi's Office

Last night, the phone lines were malfunctioning. When the central line in the guards' room rang, all the devices in the house rang as well, waking us up. Mr. [Abulqasem] Delfi, our new ambassador to Belgium, came to discuss our policies towards Europe and the European Parliament. He said they are openly waiting for the results of the [6th] Parliamentary elections. I mentioned that efforts must be made to ensure that Europe and the U.S. do not unite against us. He had previously served as our ambassador to Colombia. I asked him about reports claiming that Iran is investing in western Colombia, but he had no knowledge of it. However, he noted that the region has many Muslims, especially Arabs, who are involved in drug trafficking activities.

Dr. [Hadi] Manafi and Dr. [Mohammad] Vafaei came, bringing a message of thanks from Professor [Yahya] Adl. We had purchased his house, which was under cultural heritage regulations, at a fair price for the [Expediency] Council. They mentioned that, at the age of 86, he still performs surgeries.

In the afternoon, insurance managers visited. Mr. [Abdul Nasser] Hemmati, [Head of Central Insurance], reported on the current success of the insurance sector, attributing its growth to the policies and support during my presidency's reconstruction era. I gave a detailed speech on the importance and benefits of insurance.

Mr. [Seyed Reza] Sajjadi, [Head of the Office of Technology Cooperation of the Presidency], and Vakili came to provide a report on the results of the group's efforts to acquire sensitive high-tech technologies. Previously, I had established and supported this group within the presidency, with extensive powers, mainly to take advantage of the current but temporary situation in Russia. They presented samples of biotechnological and genetic products and explained the vast accessible resources in Russia.

The Mars probe reached the Martian atmosphere today after an 11-month journey covering 750 million kilometers. They are now waiting at the base for data to be transmitted about Mars, but as of this hour — 1:00 AM — communication has not been established. A few days ago, there was also news about another spacecraft reaching Jupiter’s atmosphere, which was reportedly destroyed near the star "Io" after a 10-year flight.