Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - July 16, 2000 - Continued Fallout from the Court Trials of the NAJA Officers

Meeting with Nasrollah Jahangard, Acting Minister of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone, along with Mohammad Hashemi, Executive Deputy to the President

Meeting with Seyed Mohammad Bagher Shomaei, Friday Prayer Leader of Komijan, Requesting Help from Hashemi for His Reappointment via Seyed Reza Taghavi, Head of the Policy Council of Friday Prayer Leaders

Periodic Meeting and Consultations with Masih Mohajeri, This Time on Defining Reform in Light of Ayatollah Khamenei’s Remarks to the Government Officials

Continued Fallout from the Court Trials of the NAJA Officers

Complete Entry:

Mr. [Nasrollah Jahangard], acting Minister of Post and Telecommunications, came along with my brother Mohammad [Executive Deputy to the President]. They discussed the situation, tasks, and plans of the ministry, seeking my support in shaping general policies. The same policies and procedures from my time in office during the Third Development Plan are being continued.

Mr. [Seyed Mohammad Bagher] Shomaei [Hamadani], the Friday Prayer leader of Komijan in Arak, visited. Before the revolution, he was one of the seminary students who served mandatory military service with me at the Bagh-Shah barracks. He mentioned that he had written the slogans on the tents at Chitgar. He now teaches at the seminary in Qom. The Policy Council of Friday Prayer Leaders told him that if he intends to live in Qom, he should resign from his position in Komijan. He brought a petition from the people requesting that he remain in his current role. He also sought financial assistance to pay the stipends for his students.

Mr. Masih Mohajeri [Editor-in-Chief of the Jomhouri Eslami newspaper] came by with suggestions regarding the definition of reforms that Ayatollah Khamenei has proposed. He opposes referring the matter to the Expediency Council, and I share his opposition. Later in the afternoon, members of the Policy Council of Friday Prayer Leaders visited. Mr. [Seyed Reza] Taghavi [Head of the Council] discussed the challenges of their work, including the lack of content in many sermons, the aging of some Friday Prayer leaders, and the financial difficulties faced by others. I offered guidance on addressing these issues, and we discussed the general state of the country.

The United States and Israel have expressed concern and issued veiled threats over the news of Iran’s long-range missile test, portraying it as a disruption of the ongoing Camp David 2 negotiations. A group of Tahkim Vahdat members has staged a sit-in and political fast outside Parliament in protest against the verdicts in the Court of the University Dormitory Incident and the arrests. Statements critical of the judiciary have appeared in the newspapers, while counter-attacks from the opposing faction are also frequent. The judiciary has issued responses as well.