Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - January 28, 2000 - Meeting with Seyed Hossein Marashi, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Gholamhossein Karbaschi After His Release from Prison and the Message from Sheikh Abdullah Nouri Regarding Efforts for His Own Release

Reviewing Effat Marashi's memoirs by Hashemi; it seems that the entire Hashemi family writes their memoirs, though only his wife's book has been published so far.

A meeting with Seyed Hossein Marashi, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Gholamhossein Karbaschi after his release from prison, where they conveyed a message from Sheikh Abdullah Nouri, requesting that Hashemi intervene and mediate with Ayatollah Khamenei for Nouri's release. They also relayed a message from Sheikh Mohsen Kadivar, who expressed willingness to request a pardon from Ayatollah Khamenei if it would result in his release. There were also discussions regarding the upcoming elections.

Yasser Hashemi informed his father that the Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing Company had sold tractors to Thailand.

A speech given to congregational prayer leaders.

I stayed at home until the evening. It rained last night and today. These days, there has been a lot of rain and snow across many parts of the world—America, Europe, and the Middle East. I spent some time reading Effat’s memoirs. They are good but need chapter divisions, dates, and editing.

Mr. [Hossein] Marashi, [Gholamhossein] Karbaschi, and [Eshaq] Jahangiri came by. They brought a message from Mr. [Abdullah] Nouri, asking me to intervene on his behalf. They believe that if they meet with the Leader, the issue could be resolved.

Mr. Karbaschi said that Mr. [Mohsen] Kadivar is also ready to request a pardon if he knows it will lead to results. He mentioned that three days ago in prison, Mr. Nouri heard that Sheikh Ali Tehrani would be transferred there, which upset them. Later, it turned out that he was taken to another ward.

They consulted with me regarding the [6th parliamentary] elections, particularly about including names such as Mr. Mohammadreza Khatami, [the president’s brother], and [Mehdi] Karroubi, [Secretary-General of the Association of Combatant Clerics]. I did not give them a clear answer. I said it would be better for them to decide first whether they want to be independent or follow political currents. They also suggested that figures like Engineer [Ezzatollah] Sahabi should have their qualifications approved.

At noon, the children were gathered. Yasser reported that the Tractor Manufacturing Company [Tabriz] had sold about $30 million worth of tractors to Thailand. Fati provided some edited portions of the memoirs from 1982 [after the crisis]. Mohsen, [CEO of Tehran Metro], consulted with me about advertisements for the launch of [Line 2 of] the metro.

In the evening, I went to the [Children and Adolescents' Intellectual Development Center] for a speech to congregational prayer leaders. I spoke at length about the strength of the revolution and the necessity of maintaining the people's trust, paying attention to their material and spiritual needs, and understanding the current times.

The news reported that Maulana [Masood] Azhar, who was recently freed from an Indian prison through a plane hijacking, had established a group in Pakistan modeled after the Taliban, declaring Mullah Omar, [the Taliban leader], as their leader. [Bill Clinton], the U.S. President, attacked Iran, Iraq, and China in his annual speech to Congress. The trial of Nawaz Sharif, [former Prime Minister of Pakistan], is attracting attention, and there was unprecedented snowfall in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.