Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - March 4, 2000 - Consultation with Mohsen Hashemi and Ali Larijani Regarding the Belgian Court’s Action

Receiving a report from Asghar Afshar on the recount of votes in Tehran.
Consultation with Mohsen Hashemi and Ali Larijani regarding the Belgian court’s action.
Telephone conversation with Ayatollah Khamenei and his directive to the Supreme National Security Council for diplomatic action.
Mohsen is concerned about the delay in metro construction, and I advised him to wait until the situation with the trains stabilizes and the planned speed of operations is achieved; the metro will eventually establish its position.

No meetings were scheduled today so I could catch up on tasks that had accumulated during the trip. Mr. [Asghar] Afshar provided a report on the recounting of ballot boxes in Tehran. They plan to recount 1,000 boxes.

At noon, Mohsen, [Managing Director of Tehran Metro], came. We discussed how to respond to the Belgian judge’s audacity. Mohsen believes that Zionists have a significant influence on Belgian politics and mentioned that banks are not fulfilling their commitments to finance the metro. The Ministry of Interior and the Tehran City Council are not taking the issue seriously. He is worried about the slowdown in metro construction. I advised him to be patient until the operational trains stabilize and the planned progress is achieved; the metro will eventually solidify its position.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [Head of IRIB], came. We discussed how to handle the Belgian government and the internal extremism. Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Belgian ambassador to protest, but it is deemed insufficient. I spoke with the Leader by phone; his opinion is that action should be taken on both fronts. It was decided to bring the issue up in the Supreme National Security Council meeting.

In the evening, Mr. [Seyed Ali Asghar] Hejazi from the Leader’s office informed me that the Leader had instructed the President that the Supreme National Security Council should issue a strong statement and summon our ambassador, demanding an apology from Belgium. The Supreme National Security Council took action. Mr. Larijani read the statement to me and said he would ensure statements and messages are issued from other sources as well.