Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's Memoirs - December 21, 1999 I had a private Iftar with Ayatollah Khamenei, during which we discussed several important current issues.

From 9:30 to 12, I had a press conference. About 150 domestic and foreign journalists and photographers attended, and the questions were important and sensitive. I answered all of them. Some said my responses had confused the reformists. The state TV and radio will broadcast the entire interview, likely provoking complaints from some. Over the past two years, I hadn’t responded seriously to the criticisms and rumors. For the first time, I experienced dry mouth—perhaps due to fasting.

In the afternoon, members of the Central Council of the Student Basij from Sharif University visited. They thanked me for accepting the nomination and mentioned that they had planned to release a statement urging me to run, but decided not to after my interview with Entekhab newspaper. They asked several questions, and Mr. Rahimi, their leader, a war veteran who had lost both legs, spoke.

I was invited to Iftar by the Supreme Leader. We discussed the pardon of Mr. Karbaschi, the situation in Lebanon, the state of the press, and the Friday prayer Imam of Tabriz. He suggested that I lead the Quds Day prayers, but I said it would be better if he attended himself. He also praised my Friday sermon from the previous week. Mr. [Ali] Larijani and Mr. [Ali] Aghamohammadi called to get my approval for broadcasting the full interview, except for some repetitive parts.

When I returned home, Fatemeh had left for her house after a dispute, and Effat had gone there out of concern. I called two or three times, and with some difficulty, convinced her to return home. I felt sorry for her. The bodyguards had bought watermelons for Yalda Night and brought some for us as well.