Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - August 31, 2000 - Request from Seyyed Mohammad Khatami to Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi for the Release of Prisoners and Lifting of Press Bans Ahead of Trip to New York

Following consultations with Hassan Rouhani regarding the dismissal of Gholamreza Forouzan, and then Forouzan's consultation with Hashemi, this time the meeting focused on the limitations of the deputies at the Strategic Research Center and their insufficient authority along with daily political consultations.

A televised interview regarding the war.

Continuation of the session about defining reforms, as directed by Ayatollah Khamenei. Interestingly, according to Hashemi's account, the country's leaders reached the conclusion that there is nothing to define and that it should be passed over.

Request from Seyyed Mohammad Khatami to Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi for the release of prisoners and lifting of press bans ahead of his trip to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly, met with a negative reaction from Hashemi Shahroudi.

It is evident from Hashemi's previous records that the then head of the judiciary had no authority against the will of Ayatollah Khamenei in this regard.

An account from Hashemi Shahroudi regarding items confiscated from the home of Masoud Behnoud.

Hashemi's account of a claim about Ahmad Zeidabadi made by Ali Larijani.

(Note: Please pay attention to my open letter to Mr. Mohsen Hashemi regarding the adjustment of Hashemi's records. I emphasize that now, with today's memoirs mentioning Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi's claim about Masoud Behnoud, it is inappropriate to censor Ali Larijani's bizarre claim regarding Ahmad Zeidabadi.)

Full Text of the Daily Record:

In the morning, I had a meeting with the deputies of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Discernment Council. The discussion mainly revolved around deficiencies and issues; they expressed dissatisfaction regarding support, administrative matters, the difficulty and limitation of approving proposed plans, and a lack of authority for the deputies. Dr. [Hassan] Rouhani, [Head of the Strategic Research Center], was not present to defend these points. I said I would follow up on this. There was a discussion about the current situation, expressing concern over the unprecedented direct confrontation with the leadership.

In the afternoon, I had a televised interview regarding the war, during which I answered questions about the start of the war, pushing back Iraq, entering Iraqi territory, accepting the resolution, peace, and the future.

In the evening, there was a session of the leaders in parliament. The discussion was about defining reforms; we did not reach a conclusion. Everyone agreed that there was nothing to define and that it should somehow be passed over. Mr. [Mehdi] Karroubi [Speaker of Parliament] criticized the two extremist groups, the right and the left, for their impact on the revolution; similar to what I and Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Khatami had previously said, he asked Mr. Shahroudi [Head of the Judiciary] to release some prisoners before his trip to New York and to lift the bans on certain newspapers, which did not receive a favorable response. Mr. Shahroudi mentioned that opium and alcoholic beverages were also found at the home of Mr. [Masoud] Behnoud [journalist], and previously Mr. [Ali] Larijani had made comments about Mr. [Ahmad] Zeidabadi. Mr. Karroubi mentioned that a few Mujahideen recently arrested had documents indicating plans to assassinate him and myself.

After the hatch of the Russian submarine was opened by Norwegian sailors, it was announced that all 118 crew members had died. The commander of the Russian Navy apologized to the public, and the pressure of criticism against the government and President [Vladimir] Putin intensified. The discrediting of the Russian Navy and the weak response of the Putin government and the Navy to the incident, especially since assistance has also been requested from the Norwegians to recover the bodies, highlights the weaknesses of the Russian Navy. Previously, the number of crew members had been reported as 107 and 116.

Today, the political crisis in Turkey escalated. Mr. Ahmed Necdet Sezer, the President, vetoed the government's decision to dismiss Islamist personnel for the second time, stating that parliament must approve it. [Bulent] Ecevit [Prime Minister of Turkey] stated that such a level of disagreement is intolerable. Some secular media have suggested the impeachment of the leaders, and Islamist forces, independents, and non-Turks support Sezer, leading towards a crisis; particularly, Sezer's insistence on constitutional principles has enhanced his credibility.