Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diary - May 1, 1999 - Report on the Continued Trial of Jewish Defendants in Shiraz

Report on the continued trial of Jewish defendants in Shiraz.

Meeting with Ali Abdullahhian and his request for support at the Chamber of Commerce, Mines, and Industries.

Meeting with Ahmad Zamaniyan.

Meeting with Parviz Niamans, the manager and owner of a private ostrich breeding company that Hashemi had previously visited.

Meeting with Hassan Mozaffari and his colleagues at the Quranic Research Center of the Isfahan Seminary.

Meeting with the temporary Friday prayer leaders of Tehran and political consultations.

In Sudan, Mr. Omar al-Bashir, [President], has removed Mr. Hassan al-Turabi, [Speaker of Parliament], and halted business, creating an extraordinary situation, and al-Turabi has declared his intention to resist. In Sierra Leone, about 500 international peacekeeping troops have lost contact with their headquarters, and Westerners say they have been taken hostage by rebels. The rebels deny this, and there is talk of deploying large numbers of military forces, primarily British. The Irish army has announced its willingness to surrender its weapons.

In the trial of the 13 Jewish spies, two more have confessed to espionage, causing further embarrassment to Westerners and Zionists. Two strong statements have been issued by the two opposing factions and two strong statements by the Guardian Council and the Ministry of Interior, inflaming the situation in the country, and foreigners are fueling the differences.

Mr. [Ali] Abdullahhian came and said that he had been elected as the First Vice President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and asked for my support and presented an analysis of the country's situation. Mr. [Ahmad] Zamaniyan, the former representative of Nahavand, came. He expressed deep concern about the country's situation and sadness over his electoral defeat; he has returned to his judicial work.

[Mr. Parviz Niamans], the owner of an ostrich breeding company [Mohasses Company], came and said that his situation is better and improving. He said that his company suffered losses and had a negative impact during the [election campaign] period in the livestock breeders' meeting. He thanked me for visiting his farm and supporting his project, which proved effective.

In the afternoon, a group from the Quranic Research Center of the Isfahan Seminary came. [Mr. Hassan Mozaffari], the son of Mr. [Hossein] Mozaffari, manages it. They brought a sample of their products; a CD [software] called "Basaer" on the visual interpretation of the Quran.

In the evening, we had a meeting with the [temporary] Friday prayer leaders of Tehran, Messrs. [Ahmad] Jannati, [Mohammad] Yazdi, and [Mohammad] Imami Kashani; Mr. [Seyed Hassan] Taheri Khorramabadi was ill and absent. We discussed the issues of Friday prayer leaders in the country, the Tehran Friday prayer, and the plots to weaken the Friday pulpits. Messrs. Yazdi and Jannati also had a discussion about the Tehran elections. They left for home at 12 o'clock.