Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 7, 2001 - Important Meeting with Amir Tehrani, Deputy Minister of Intelligence, Regarding a Bill Presented to Parliament and Complaints About Reactions from the IRGC and Armed Forces General Staff

Meeting with the officials of the Jamkaran Complex in Qom to report on their activities

Important meeting with Amir Tehrani, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence, regarding a bill presented to Parliament and complaints about reactions from the IRGC and Armed Forces General Staff.

Supplementary Explanation: The Ministry of Intelligence aimed to increase its powers by presenting the bill "Addition of Articles to the Establishment Law of the Ministry of Intelligence," which sought to amend three articles of its founding law. One of these articles would allow the Ministry to have judicial powers within its legal duties and consider the Ministry's expert opinions on security matters as equivalent to those of official court experts.

According to this bill, the ministries of intelligence, defense, and armed forces support organizations, within the scope of their legal duties regarding security cases, would have the right to request the prosecution and trial of suspects or the suspension of prosecution, as well as the right to appeal and seek reconsideration of issued rulings and decisions.

The mentioned bill was not discussed in the Sixth Parliament but was finally raised in the first year of the Seventh Parliament, where it was rejected after debate and consideration in the public assembly. However, the opponents' viewpoints were also noteworthy, as granting these permissions to the Ministry and other protective institutions was seen as interference in judicial matters, since the relevant officials would have judicial powers, thereby significantly limiting oversight over their actions concerning suspects.

Continuing the numerous discussions and meetings between Ali Larijani and Hashemi on various issues, this meeting included requests from various institutions and organizations to amend their budgets in the legislative assembly.

The meeting continued with interviews with Amir Ali Shamkhani, Brigadier General Gholamali Rashid, Brigadier General Hossein Alaei, and Mohammad Doroudian regarding the war and revolution.

As usual, the most significant meeting today was the one-on-one meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei.

Discussion on the regulations for overseeing macro-policies and the referral of Parliament's resolution for the first time to the Expediency Discernment Council, along with other political consultations. The report from Ayatollah Khamenei regarding the letter from Izadollah Sahabi from prison and the Guardian Council (the relevance of the Council remains unclear) and reactions to the criticisms from Sheikh Mohammad Jafari Gilani and Sheikh Hassan Sanei regarding sending inspectors to the Office of Islamic Propagation and the 15 Khordad Foundation is noteworthy.

Complete Daily Report:

Mr. [Habibullah] Mousavi, [Abbas] Lajevardi, and Sadeghi, officials from the [Cultural Affairs] Institute of Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, came to report on the economic, cultural, and construction status there, as well as development plans and their specialized library.

Mr. [Amir] Tehrani, the Deputy Minister of [Parliamentary Affairs] of Intelligence, arrived. He discussed the problems related to the bill concerning the powers of the Ministry, due to opposition from the leadership, as well as issues arising within the Ministry after the sentencing of several individuals in the [chain murders] case. He criticized the pressure exerted by the IRGC and the General Staff of the Armed Forces regarding the bill.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [Head of the Broadcasting Organization], came and brought requests from various organizations for budgetary amendments in the Expediency Discernment Council.

The meeting continued with interviews with Mr. [Ali] Shamkhani, [Gholamali] Rashid, [Hossein] Alaei, and [Mohammad Doroudian] regarding war policies and issues from the revolution.

In the evening, I was a guest of the leadership. We discussed the regulations for overseeing macro-policies and issues related to referring the budget to the Expediency Discernment Council and provided explanations regarding the approved macro-policies, electoral matters, trials, and the disputes within the Second Khordad Front. They mentioned that Mr. [Ezzatollah] Sahabi, [a national-religious activist], wrote to him apologizing and expressed readiness to rectify his mistakes, and similarly, he sent a letter to the Guardian Council. I conveyed the grievances of Mr. [Mohammad] Jafari [Gilani, Head of the Islamic Propagation Office in Qom] and [Hassan] Sanei, [Head of the 15 Khordad Foundation], regarding inspections. They said this does not indicate distrust; inspections are a normal and routine matter.

The elections for the Israeli parliament were held today. Reports indicate low participation and voter turnout. As of now, there are discussions of less than 50 percent participation, marking the first time in Israel's election history, particularly with the disillusionment of Arab citizens in Israel who have boycotted the elections due to [Ehud] Barak, [Prime Minister of Israel], breaking his promises.