emoirs of Akbar Hashemi - September 9, 2000 - Bitter Remarks by Sheikh Ali Meshkini During Meeting with Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and the President's Silence

Visit to the IRGC's Protection Exhibition.

Meeting with other Assembly of Experts representatives and Ayatollah Khamenei.

Bitter remarks by Sheikh Ali Meshkini during his meeting with Seyyed Mohammad Khatami and the President's silence in response.

Ongoing controversies surrounding the Office for Strengthening Unity in Khorramabad.

The full entry of the day:

In the morning, I visited the IRGC's Protection Exhibition, located at the Quran Museum – under construction in the southern part of the Expediency Council building. I saw various interesting items, including tools used for terrorist actions, defensive equipment, eavesdropping devices, and equipment for detecting listening devices and harmful rays. The museum director complained that after the period of reconstruction, the budget for the building was cut, leaving it incomplete.

I then went to the leadership's office for a meeting with the Assembly of Experts representatives. Mr. Ali Meshkini, the chairman of the Assembly, and Mr. Ebrahimi Amini, the deputy chairman and head of the Assembly's secretariat, spoke and presented the demands of the Assembly. The leadership also gave a detailed address. I then went to the President's office. Mr. Meshkini made bitter and pointed remarks regarding moral and cultural deviations. President Khatami deemed it inappropriate to respond and instead focused on general statements regarding economic and political matters. The members of the Assembly were not satisfied and had questions; I did not stay. Overall, there were significant criticisms of the government in the Assembly's discussions, statements, and news concerning cultural and economic issues.

In the evening, I worked on tasks that I had fallen behind on in recent days. The dispute between the left and right regarding the issues in Khorramabad continues, accompanied by statements and provocations from the Mojahedin in the west and south, which may be coordinated with Iraq.