Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - February 14, 2000 - Negotiations with Ayatollah Khamenei, Sheikh Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Hassan Tolayi, and Abdullah Jasbi Following Ali Larijani's Report

Meeting with Sheikh Mahmoud Zahedi for further assistance from Hashemi in the construction and development of a pasteurized milk factory

Meeting with Brigadier General Ezzatollah Zarghami, then Deputy for Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Defense, and his interesting recommendations

Meeting with Brigadier General Ali Akbar Ahmadian, then Commander of the IRGC Navy, and his report on naval matters

Meeting with Brigadier General Hassan Danaeifar, expressing displeasure over Mohsen Rezaei's removal from the electoral list of the Executives of Construction Party

Meeting with Sheikh Mohsen Qara'ati and his request for assistance from the then Minister of Education, Mohammad Ali Najafi

Disagreement between Mojtaba Kalbasi and the Islamic Propagation Office in Qom

Meeting with Seyyed Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, then lawyer and member of Tehran City Council, reporting on legal cases involving Tehran mayors at the Special Judiciary Complex

Negotiation with Ayatollah Khamenei, Sheikh Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Hassan Tolayi, and Abdullah Jasbi following Ali Larijani’s report

Attendance at the gathering of the Combatant Clergy Association of Tehran

Last night, it snowed in Shemiranat and rained in Tehran. Sheikh Mahmoud Zahedi from Qom, along with Mr. Mousavi, came to express gratitude for my assistance in building a pasteurized milk factory for the orphans' charity in Qom. He shared stories about his late father, Sheikh Abolfazl Zahedi, and requested that I visit their aid facilities.

Mr. [Ezzatollah] Zarghami, Deputy for Parliamentary Affairs at the Ministry of Defense, came to see me. He is also a member of the supervisory council for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and was previously the deputy for cinematic affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. He criticized Mr. [Ataollah] Mohajerani's cultural policies and pointed out numerous political and cultural flaws in the films produced this year. He asked me to tell his former colleagues to defend their achievements against the leftists' smear campaigns. I told him that he should take the lead in defending these cultural policies. He responded that the newspapers are not cooperating.

Mr. [Ali Akbar] Ahmadian, Commander of the IRGC Navy, reported on the presence of the IRGC Navy in the Caspian Sea and the attempt to seize an Azerbaijani seismic survey ship in waters claimed by Iran, which had fled. The army claims they forced it to leave under threat. He also discussed the plans for a bridge from Qeshm to Bandar Abbas and a tunnel for water transfer to Kerman, which are under study.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Hassan] Danaeifar came, upset about the removal of Mr. Mohsen Rezaei from the electoral lists of the Executives of Construction and Moderation parties. They expect me to push for his inclusion. I told them I had already sent a message suggesting that adding him to the list would be better.

Mr. [Mohsen] Qara'ati, [representative of the Supreme Leader in the Literacy Movement], came and asked me to speak to Dr. [Mohammad Ali] Najafi, [then head of the Planning and Budget Organization], to assist with the employment of Literacy Movement educators. Mr. [Mojtaba] Kalbasi came and expressed his discontent with the Islamic Propagation Office in Qom, particularly about how they manage the "Guide Interpretation" project; he has had a falling out with them.

Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Alizadeh Tabatabaei, member of Tehran City Council and accountant at the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters, came to report on issues with the judiciary. He discussed problems at the Special Judiciary Complex for government employees and explained the case of [Gholamreza] Ghebbeh, a municipal official, hoping for a reduced sentence.

At noon, Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [head of IRIB], called and said that the Guardian Council had approved the use of computers for counting votes in Tehran, which is risky. I spoke with the Supreme Leader, Mr. [Ahmad] Jannati, Mr. [Mohammad Hassan] Tolayi, [head of the Tehran Election Supervisory Board], and Dr. [Abdullah] Jasbi, [President of the Islamic Azad University]. It was agreed that they would hold a meeting to review the matter. That evening, Mr. Larijani and Mr. Tolayi came and said that it is acceptable under certain conditions. If the Ministry of Interior accepts these conditions, the use of computers will be approved.

That evening, I went to the Shahid Motahari School, where I delivered a speech to the scholars gathered at the Combatant Clergy Association of Tehran, discussing the current situation and the necessary actions.