Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - June 21, 2000 - News of Sheikh Ali Tehrani's Suicide Attempt in Evin Prison

News of Sheikh Ali Tehrani's Suicide Attempt in Evin Prison

[Mr. Isa Kalantari], the Minister of Agriculture, came along with Dr. [Mohammad Jafar] Malekouti [Head of the Soil and Water Research Institute and advisor to the Minister of Agriculture on fertilizer production and optimal use]. They gave a report on the state of agriculture, including the shortage of micronutrients for crops. Due to the lack of essential elements, Iranian agricultural products are of poor quality and lack important beneficial properties. For instance, they spoke about the deficiency of sulfur and zinc in fertilizers and gave an interesting explanation on the benefits of zinc for human and plant growth. They showed slides demonstrating the significant effects of providing zinc to plants.

I asked why this important issue was not addressed in the past. They explained that there had been a misconception among our agricultural specialists that Iran's soil was rich in potassium. It was only when advanced countries noticed the deficiencies in our imported products that, five years ago, they began addressing it. Zinc capsules for humans also originated from this issue, and now more than ten million capsules are produced annually by commercial companies, and this number continues to grow. Zinc has numerous benefits for regulating human metabolism. They also discussed the importance of drip irrigation, which prevents drought stress since plants typically suffer during the last two to three days of gravity irrigation in the heat.

Mr. [Ebrahim] Derazgisoo, our new ambassador to Turkmenistan, came and requested that the exceptional respect Mr. [Saparmurat] Niyazov [President of Turkmenistan] has for me be used to strengthen and develop relations. I mentioned that the narrow-mindedness of certain elements in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other factions prevents intervention. I gave him some advice.

My brother Mohammad [Executive Vice President] came and said that he would not accompany Mr. Khatami to China, even though he is the head of the Joint Commission. He criticized the fact that about eighty artists were accompanying Mr. [Ataollah] Mohajerani [Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance] on the trip. At noon, Mohsen [Managing Director of Tehran Metro] came to say goodbye; he will accompany Mr. Khatami to China for metro-related matters. Some foreign media are reporting that it has been announced in Beijing that the Chinese government is unhappy with Mr. Khatami's visit to the Muslim region [Xinjiang].

In the afternoon, Mr. [Mohammad Taghi] Moayed, our new ambassador to Greece, came. Instead of discussing embassy issues, he criticized the parliament and the political games of the "Second Khordad" faction. He also spoke of the problems arising from rumors about the merging of ministries and cabinet reshuffling, which has disrupted the stability of government agencies.

In the evening, Fa'ezeh informed me that during her trip to Arak yesterday, she had fallen ill and even went to the hospital but kept it from us. News has circulated that Sheikh Ali Tehrani—who is in prison—attempted suicide but was saved.