Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - November 20, 2000 - Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, Apparently Without Addressing Complaints from the Deputy Minister of Information and International Affairs

Hashemi’s Narratives on Events in Gaza During 2000

Meeting with Alireza Salari Ahead of His Assignment as Iran’s Ambassador to Abu Dhabi

Hashemi’s Account of Meeting with Officials from the Union of Islamic Associations of Universities and the Expectations from the Islamic Azad University under the Leadership of Abdollah Jasebi After the Split from the Office of Consolidation of Unity

Note: The Office of Consolidation of Unity has undergone changes and splits since 1991. The peak of changes occurred after the formation of the Student Basij on December 2, 1988.

Some members of this office separated in 1991 and joined the Basij of universities. Following the chain murders and the events at Tehran University in 1999, the independent Islamic associations also separated from this office. However, the most significant split occurred in 2001 with the formation of the Shiraz faction, which received support from the Islamic Republic and separated from the Allameh faction, which had become critical of the ruling authority and leadership after June 2, 1997. The Allameh faction was deemed illegal on February 24, 2009, by the Secretariat of the Central Committees overseeing Islamic Student Associations within the Ministries of Science, Research, and Technology and Health, Treatment, and Medical Education during the ninth government.

With the closure of the Allameh faction and the exclusion of reformist students and student organizations, this office also came under the control of the principlist faction, effectively losing its influence in the country’s political landscape.

Meeting with Mohammad Da’i, Former Official of the Islamic Republic Party Branch in Yazd for an Interview on Compilation of Historical Records

Meeting with Sheikh Ahmad Shafiei, Deputy Minister and Amir Tehrani, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Deputy of the Ministry of Information, Reporting on a Historically Significant Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei

During which they express grievances to Hashemi that the meeting with the Supreme Leader has further disheartened the officials, as their request was for Ayatollah Khamenei to issue a firm order to deal decisively with the initial team of interrogators and investigators of the suspects in the chain murders, who had started and continued the interrogation process with extensive physical and psychological torture and subsequently engaged in producing and distributing leaflets against the officials of the Ministry of Information. However, this request did not meet with Ayatollah Khamenei’s approval.

Of course, years later, the same interrogators assumed executive and security positions, which indicates the historical perspective Hashemi has, as he responds to their complaints by stating that the Supreme Leader is upset with the Ministry of Information of the reformist government for its lack of action in containing anti-revolutionary activities (of which no specific instances have been published).

Meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, Apparently Without Addressing Complaints from the Deputy Minister of Information and Focusing on International Affairs

This meeting carries a very important historical significance, which is the expression of Ayatollah Khamenei's grievances regarding the government's management weaknesses and dissatisfaction with the performance of Mostafa Tajzadeh and Attaollah Mohajerani in the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, as well as expressing discontent with Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, who had promised to clarify matters and reform procedures.

Non-participation of Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi for a Speech at Isfahan University and the Dispatch of Sheikh Mohammad Niazi as His Representative Following the Statements of the Office of Consolidation of Unity Against Him and the Judiciary

Hashemi’s Account of Tensions at the Memorial Ceremony for Parvaneh and Dariush Forouhar in Tehran

Dariush Forouhar was the Secretary-General of the Iran Nation Party and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the government of Engineer Mehdi Bazargan. On December 1, 1998, he and his wife Parvaneh were murdered in their home during the chain murders by agents of the Ministry of Information. He was among the leaders of the National Front of Iran from 1977 to 1979 and separated from that front in early 1979.

Full Entry of the Day:

Last night, Israel conducted extensive and unprecedented attacks on Gaza, citing retaliation for a bus explosion, resulting in a large number of casualties and injuries. Today, military assaults have intensified. In response to these attacks, Egypt has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv, and a wave of intense anger has swept through the Islamic world, with Israeli extremists endorsing the Israeli military's actions.

Mr. Alireza Salari, who has been appointed as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, visited for consultation and farewell. He spoke about the extensive presence of Iranian companies and government agencies in the UAE and inquired about the three islands (Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa) and potential solutions. I noted that the figure of several thousand companies might be exaggerated and that direct negotiations regarding the islands should commence.

A group of leaders from the Union of Islamic Associations of Universities, who have recently separated from the Office of Consolidation of Unity, came to meet. They mentioned that there are 17 associations, with proposals from 25 others to join. They consulted about their policy strategies. It seems they feel weak and challenged due to the lack of cooperation from university administrators and expect the officials of Islamic Azad University to pay attention to them.

Mr. Mohammad Da’i, the former official of the Islamic Republic Party branch in Yazd, visited to conduct an interview for compiling the history of the revolution. In the afternoon, Mr. Ahmad Shafiei and Mr. Amir Tehrani from the Ministry of Information came. They mentioned that the meeting of the intelligence officials with the Supreme Leader has further disheartened them. They have received the opposite result regarding the prosecution of the initial team of interrogators of the chain murder suspects and the authors of leaflets against the Ministry of Information. I noted that the Supreme Leader is displeased with the inactivity of the Ministry of Information in containing anti-revolutionary activities.

In the evening, I was a guest of the Supreme Leader. He expressed satisfaction with the warm reception from the people of Markazi Province but lamented the numerous problems faced by the populace. He quoted Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, regarding his statements to Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State, relayed through Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, who provided good responses regarding his proposals to Israel. He was pleased with Bashar al-Assad's firm responses to U.S. threats, stating that the Israeli government is currently weak.

The Supreme Leader expressed dissatisfaction with the government's management weaknesses, specifically regarding the performance of Mostafa Tajzadeh and Attaollah Mohajerani in the Ministries of Interior and Culture, as well as with the unfulfilled promises of Seyyed Mohammad Khatami regarding the reform of their operations.

Mr. Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the Chief Justice, who had traveled to Isfahan, was supposed to speak at Isfahan University today for the Student Basij, but despite extensive publicity, he did not attend, and instead, Mr. Mohammad Niazi, the Head of the Judicial Organization of Armed Forces, went in his place. This was seemingly due to the announcements made by the Consolidation of Unity against the judiciary in Isfahan University, as well as two leaflets that were distributed against him on campus. During the memorial ceremony for the Forouhars in Tehran, some individuals chanted slogans against despotism and dictatorship in the streets, and several were arrested.