Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - March 8, 2000 - Meeting with Hassan Khomeini and Consultation on Statements by Intelligence and Judicial Officials Regarding the Death of Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini

Meeting with officials from the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee.
Meeting with General Ezzatollah Zarghami, the then Deputy Minister of Defense for Parliamentary Affairs, and his cultural and political opinions.
Meeting with Abdullah Jasbi and reports on electoral and university matters.
Continued issuance of numerous statements of support for Hashemi.
The trial of police officers over the dormitory incident is attracting considerable attention, with many supporters and opponents.

Mr. [Hossein] Marashi, [Representative of Kerman], came by. He mentioned that Mr. [Mohammad] Khatami, [President], had invited the heads of left-wing groups to a meeting for discussions. He consulted on the potential topics to be raised in the meeting, mentioning that there are differences between the Participation Front and the Association of Combatant Clerics over the presidency of the parliament. Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi] Khoeiniha is secretly guiding the Participation Front, which has upset Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi.

Mr. [Ali] Nemat-Zadeh, representative of Saqqez and Baneh, came by. He was not re-elected to the sixth parliament and expressed criticism towards the governor and the Participation Front members. He discussed issues related to the water supply in Saqqez and the Baneh Dam.

Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Alizadeh, [Director of the Construction and Housing Department of the Foundation for the Oppressed], came with a group of colleagues from the building and construction sector. They spoke about their ongoing projects, including those in oil, gas, seismology, dam construction, and airports. They sought help in securing projects from South Pars and expressed concern over the country's political, cultural, and economic situation, noting that all their current projects date back to the reconstruction period.

Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting], visited and gave a report on today’s meeting about the state of the press, offering suggestions. He said that Mr. [Ahmad] Jannati, [Secretary of the Guardian Council], is preparing to go to Mecca and expressed concern that with all the work around the elections, it’s not an appropriate time for him to leave. I called Mr. Jannati, and he confirmed this, saying that the Tehran election results would be finalized before his departure, but in some other contested cities, decisions would be postponed until after the Hajj. In the afternoon, I officiated the wedding ceremony of Akbar A’rabi’s daughter, a long-time bodyguard. Efat also attended.

In the evening, Mr. [Mohammad Hasan] Tolayi, [Head of the Election Monitoring Committee for Tehran], came and informed me that the random recount of Tehran’s ballots had been stopped by the Guardian Council's order, and tomorrow, they will recount some of the contested ballot boxes. I emphasized that everything should be handled transparently to prevent any doubts, and I conveyed the same to Mr. Jannati.

Today, workers protesting the exemption of small workshops from labor law gathered outside the parliament, chanting strong slogans against the parliament, the market, and the chamber of commerce. Protests and scattered demonstrations are also being held at some public and private universities over students’ living conditions and welfare issues.

In the evening, Mr. Hassan Khomeini came by. He gave a report on his trip to Pakistan and South Africa and expressed concern about the dangers posed by the Participation Front and the conflict between Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi and Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi] Khoeiniha. He also extended an invitation to the commemoration ceremony for the anniversary of Haj Ahmad Khomeini’s passing.

He mentioned that Mr. [Mohammad] Niazi, Head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, and Mr. Barati, the interrogator for the chain murders case, had met with him and claimed that the same group of murderers had confessed to killing Haj Ahmad Khomeini. However, they had no evidence, and their statements were not credible, similar to many of their other confessions, which seemed to have been made to escape from the interrogators and to exaggerate the case to divert attention from the truth.

He added that he had met with both the Supreme Leader and the President, and they also stated that the claim was false. He was satisfied with his trip to Pakistan, where he was received at a high level. Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi] Bojnordi, his father-in-law, accompanied him. During a meeting with General [Pervez] Musharraf, the imprisonment of Nawaz Sharif was discussed, while in a meeting with Nawaz Sharif’s deputy, Nawaz Sharif was described as a great, noble, and oppressed man.