Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - December 7, 2000 - Hashemi's Account of Mohammad Khatami's Remarks on Student Day at Tarbiat Modares University

Meeting with Majid Abbaspour and Report on Industries that Hashemi or the Publisher Preferred to Name Specifically

Meeting with Ali Mohammad Bashirati and Political Consultations

Meeting with the Quran Memorization Holders and Encouragement of Ms. Fatemeh Shirazi by Hashemi and Iffat Marashi

Full Entry of the Day:

Dr. Majid Abbaspour, the Technical Advisor to the President, came and provided a detailed report on the status of specific industries and the challenges they face. Ali Mohammad Bashirati, the former Minister of Interior, also visited. He criticized the current state of the country and expressed concern over the government's neglect of societal needs and issues while being preoccupied with political matters, fearing for the revolution.

In the afternoon, a group of Quran reciters performed in my office. Questions were posed to several Quran memorizers, including a seven-year-old girl named Fatemeh Shirazi, who answered well. It was noted that her mother is also a memorizer of the Quran. Iffat gifted a Bahar Azadi coin to Fatemeh Shirazi, and I delivered a brief speech to them. They were my guests for iftar. I presented each attendee with a copy of "Crossing the Crisis" [a record of events and memories from 1981].

Today, President Mohammad Khatami delivered a speech at Tarbiat Modares University on the occasion of Student Day, making ambiguous statements that aimed to satisfy both sides but may have offended both parties. He officially and publicly condemned the demand for constitutional change, stating that his comments referred to regular law, which had been mistakenly interpreted as constitutional law. In the evening, a magnitude 7 earthquake occurred in the Caspian Sea, felt in Tehran and resulting in casualties in Turkmenistan.