Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - April 6, 2000 Ayatollah Khamenei's harsh remarks during his speech in Mashhad and his renewed declaration of dissatisfaction with the reformist government.

Ayatollah Khamenei's harsh remarks during his speech in Mashhad and his renewed declaration of dissatisfaction with the reformist government.

I was at home. I studied some notes from the Revolutionary Council meetings as well as my own sermons from 1982 regarding the achievements of the revolution. Today, the Leader delivered a lengthy speech in Mashhad; he was very critical of America and responded to the negative statements made by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. His remarks about the government were bitter, especially regarding the term "wall of distrust" between Iran and America, which he deemed incorrect. He views the issue as one of enmity rather than distrust; this term was first used by Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, the President, and has been repeated by Americans as well. Given his Nowruz message and letter to Mr. Khatami, there is an overall sense of dissatisfaction with the government's performance.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, relatives and children came to visit for Nowruz. My laptop had a malfunction. Someone from the office came and fixed it. I had turned it off to receive news during my trip to Kish, which caused the issue.

China has dispatched several fishing boats to some islands occupied by Taiwan, marking the beginning of pressure. Pope John Paul II, leader of Catholics worldwide, again apologized for two thousand years of mistreatment of Jews in Jerusalem, but some Jewish rabbis find this insufficient.

Bill Clinton's brief six-hour stop in Pakistan and his discussions with General Pervez Musharraf's government have been declared fruitless; this includes issues regarding nuclear weapons, Kashmir, and the renewal of democracy, as well as the elections in Russia and Clinton's meeting today in Geneva.