Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Memoirs - January 12, 1999 - A phone call from Ayatollah Khamenei to Hashemi to discuss the pardon and release of Gholam Hossein Karbaschi and an invitation to coordinate a one-on-one meeting.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Diaries - January 13, 1999

Phone call from Ayatollah Khamenei to Hashemi regarding Gholamhossein Karbaschi's pardon and release and invitation for a private meeting to coordinate the matter: Ayatollah Khamenei called Hashemi to discuss the pardon and release of Gholamhossein Karbaschi and invited him for a private meeting to coordinate the matter further.

Discussions with Sheikh Ghorbanali Dorri Najafabadi on the final statement of the Assembly of Experts: They discussed the final statement of the Assembly of Experts.

Revisions to Meshkini's speech by Meshkini himself: Ali Meshkini, the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, revised his previous speeches to address shortcomings. Hashemi (or the publisher) chose not to disclose the details of these revisions.

Shortening the Assembly of Experts session and coordinating with the Leader's office: The decision to shorten the Assembly of Experts session and the subsequent coordination with the Leader's office to reschedule the meeting of the Assembly members with the Leader are historically significant events.

Amendment of the voting age for the Assembly of Experts elections: The voting age for the Assembly of Experts was changed from 15 to 16 years old for the upcoming mid-term elections.

Hashemi's visit to the World Center for Islamic Sciences in Qom: Hashemi visited the World Center for Islamic Sciences, a center for foreign students in Qom, and provided details about its activities and status.

As usual, I reviewed the reports. Mr. [Ghorbanali] Dorri [Najafabadi, representative of the Assembly of Experts] came. We discussed the statement of the Assembly of Experts. In the morning session, we sought the opinion of the experts regarding shortening the session; they agreed.

Mr. [Ali] Meshkini, [the chairman of the Assembly of Experts] also compensated for the weaknesses in his previous day's speech with his remarks before the order of the day today and yesterday. During the break, the presiding board reviewed the draft of the closing statement and, through contact with the Leader's office, moved the time of the meeting scheduled for next Saturday to Thursday.

In the afternoon session, we raised the voting age for the Assembly of Experts from 15 years to 16 years, for the upcoming mid-term elections in Bahman [February]. To harmonize the resolution of the parliament and the text of the draft, we put the statement to a vote and received suggestions from the members. Four or five people from the left wing were dissatisfied with the harsh approach to the government's cultural and economic programs. It was decided to moderate it, which was done. The session ended.

In the evening, I went to the World Center [for Islamic Sciences] for the education of foreign students. It's a huge building; about 50,000 square meters plus 12 other centers, which together have 9,000 students from 91 countries. In a gathering of students, Mr. [Seyed Hassan] Rabbani, the director of the center, gave a report, and I spoke extensively about the importance of this center and the training of learned and committed forces from various races and nationalities. They expressed very enthusiastic sentiments.

One of the students from Indonesia came and said that the number of casualties among Muslims in the Indonesian island of Blok is much higher than the figures announced and asked me to follow up. I visited one of the dormitory rooms; it is well-equipped.

I talked to the students. They were from Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. They said that lunch and dinner are free. They charge 14,000 tomans as tuition fees, and the tuition fees for married students are 30,000 tomans. I visited the exhibition.

The programs for admission, graduation, education and training, cultural and Persian and Arabic language programs, etc. Some of their works were gifted to me. Then

in a meeting with the officials, we heard about their programs and needs, including the housing problem of married students.

They thanked us for the two billion toman budget that was approved during the construction era and requested assistance in removing the obstacles to its recent poor disbursement and absorption. [Mr. Ghorbanali Saadat], the governor of [Qom], was also present at the meeting; I asked him to help with the absorption of the housing budget. Then I participated in a gathering of them and researchers. There were also personalities from the Mujahideen and scholars of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. [Seyed Mohammad Baqer] Hakim, the Speaker of the Supreme Council of Iraq, welcomed me, and I also gave an important speech about the arrogance's opposition to Islamic rule and the suppression of Islamic movements after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Somalia, and explained the importance of the role of this center in training learned and committed forces for the future of the Islamic world.

Ayatollah Khamenei called from Tehran and said that they need to discuss the pardon of Mr. [Gholamhossein] Karbaschi with me. It was decided that we would have a meeting on Saturday night. After having dinner with them, I left for Tehran at 10 pm and arrived home around 12 am. Effat and Fati were still awake.