Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diary - June 12, 1999Criticism by a group of senior members of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Supreme Leader's support for Seyed Mohammad Khatami

Criticism by a group of senior members of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Supreme Leader's support for Seyed Mohammad Khatami. Side events in the Expediency Discernment Council during the approval of the general policies of the judiciary regarding the issue of dealing with the defendants in the chain murders and Hashemi Shahroudi's request for Hashemi Rafsanjani's help in enhancing his provincial trip to Kerman.

Sheikh Abbas Vaez Tabasi's report on the sidelines of Seyed Mohammad Khatami's speech in Mashhad and the behavior of some of his supporters.

Criticism by a group of senior members of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Supreme Leader's support for Seyed Mohammad Khatami.

Meeting with Heydar Aliyev, the then-president of Azerbaijan.

Death of Hafez al-Assad during a phone call with the President of Lebanon.

The Expediency Discernment Council held a session. The general policies of the judiciary were on the agenda, and one clause was approved. During the discussion, Mr. Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, the former Minister of Intelligence, brought up the issue of ill-treatment of the defendants in the chain murders, which sparked a heated debate, and I stopped it because Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami, the President, and his three-member selected group (Mr. Ali Younesi, Mr. Ali Rabiei, and Mr. Hamid Sarami) were not present to defend themselves. It was postponed to another session. After the session, Mr. Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, said that he intends to make an official trip to Kerman province and asked me to tell influential individuals there to help ensure the success of the trip.

In the afternoon, Mr. Abbas Vaez Tabasi, Mr. Mohammad Yazdi, Mr. Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, Mr. Ghorbanali Dorri Najafabadi, and Mr. Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani were my guests. Mr. Tabasi had harsh criticism and considered the behavior of Mr. Khatami, the President, during his trip to Mashhad and their actions contrary to the agreed-upon minutes, which stipulated that only Mr. Tabasi would offer a welcome speech, but they had also added Mr. Mohammad Abbasi Khorassani and Mr. Mohsen Mehralizadeh, the governor, and organized for people to insult him in front of the podium while he was speaking. They also had whistling, applause, and dancing near the Imam Reza shrine and then illegally demonstrated in the streets, insulting Mr. Tabasi and the regime, and Mr. Tabasi did not protest against them in his speech. Mr. Tabasi believes that Mr. Khatami either approves of these actions or is unable to take a stand against them due to pressure from his entourage. The future of the presidency was also discussed. The Leader's support for Mr. Khatami was implicitly criticized.

In the afternoon, Mr. Heydar Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, came. He was very upset about the border situation with Armenia. He said they have one million displaced people and 20% of their country's land is occupied by Armenia, and no one supports them, and Armenia does not respond favorably to peace proposals. He invited me to Azerbaijan. He has become old and tired. He expressed gratitude for my support when he was in Nakhichevan and at the beginning of his presidency.

News arrived that Mr. Hafez al-Assad, the President of Syria, died of a heart attack today. Mr. Emile Lahoud, the President of Lebanon, said that while they were having a phone conversation, his voice suddenly cut off, and he fell and died. His last words were, "We must think about the future generation." I sent condolences to his son, Mr. Bashar al-Assad.