Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diary - May 1, 1999 - Continued Fallout from the Broadcast of Scenes from the Berlin Conference and Hashemi's Remarks on the Exposure of Individuals like Akbar Ganji, etc.

‍Continued Fallout from the Broadcast of Scenes from the Berlin Conference and Hashemi's Remarks on the Exposure of Individuals like Akbar Ganji, etc.

Finally, after months of planning, consultations, and discussions, glimpses of which are mentioned in Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's daily entries of 1998 and 1999, Ayatollah Khamenei's speech at Tehran's Musalla and the silencing of the press, or in Hashemi's words, "calculatedly...," took place.

Continued Fallout from the Broadcast of Scenes from the Berlin Conference and Hashemi's Remarks on the Exposure of Individuals like Akbar Ganji, etc. (Apparently, the publisher preferred to use "..." instead of mentioning the names of other individuals).

- Mohsen Rezai's account of how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' harsh statement against Khatami, the government, and the reformist political factions was encouraged by Ayatollah Khamenei.

- Hashemi's account of the Strategic Research Center deputies' rejoicing over the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and Ayatollah Khamenei's speech today.

- Hassan Rouhani's account, quoting Sheikh Ali Younesi, the then-Minister of Intelligence, about President Seyed Mohammad Khatami's tears and distress over the current situation, has even more surprising lessons; later in Hashemi's memoirs, you will read that he was not allowed to speak or explain issues, including the chain murders, in the Assembly of Experts, and other restrictions.

I went to the presidential office at 11:00 AM. I used the sauna and the swimming pool. The pool's chlorine was too high, it irritated my eyes; my silver ring turned black. Until the evening, I reviewed reports and newspapers. Ayatollah Khamenei delivered a lengthy speech today at Tehran's Musalla to tens of thousands of young people who had come from all over the country. The main purpose of this gathering was to address the problems stemming from the Second of Khordad press and a lot of publicity was done to make the gathering grand. He delivered a well-calculated speech; both the order of the topics and the choice of words and phrases were calculated, and it led to a large number of gatherings and speeches in other cities until the evening. IRIB also put in a lot of effort.

Today, the markets of Tehran and most cities in Iran were closed in protest against the Berlin conference, and there were numerous gatherings and demonstrations on this issue, and IRIB also had encouraging programs.

The repeated broadcasting of scenes from the Berlin conference and the sight of individuals who had traveled there from Iran have inflamed the atmosphere; although the Second of Khordad newspapers and the Islamic Republic News Agency [IRNA] have tried hard to question the actions of IRIB, they have not achieved any results, and public opinion among the supporters of the revolution approves of IRIB's actions. They are happy with the exposure of individuals like [Akbar] Ganji and others. The gathering in Qom was also grand and intense; the statements of parties, personalities, and institutions are flowing.

In the afternoon, I went to the central building of the Strategic Research Center [Assembly of Experts] in Niavaran. There was a meeting of the deputies; we made some decisions. They were happy with the actions of IRIB and the Leader's speech today. They have no information about the Leader's plan and the judiciary. The Revolutionary Court has summoned those who attended the Berlin conference. Western media are surprised; they see some of their achievements thwarted. Mr. [Hassan] Rouhani said that Mr. [Ali] Younesi, [Minister of Intelligence], who met with him, expressed his concern about the closure of newspapers and said that Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami, [the President], is anxious and has cried in front of him.