Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - April 3, 2002

Mr. [Dadkhoda] Barkam, the former deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, came and asked me to enter the scene as I had done in the past to organize the political and economic affairs in the country

The US Secretary of Defense has once again threatened Iran and Syria, calling Iran the main instigator of the Palestinian Mujahideen.

Full text of the diary:

The situation in Palestine has become more critical. The Israeli army has also occupied the city of Jenin. Israel has also carried out air and artillery attacks on southern Lebanon, threatening Syria and Lebanon. [Israeli Prime Minister] Sharon insists that [Yasser] Arafat get a one-way ticket to leave Palestine, and [Colin] Powell, the US Secretary of State, opposes it, believing that Arafat is better able to support the struggle against Israel outside of Palestine. Arafat has also said that he is not ready to leave Palestine in any way.

According to reports, a large number of martyrs and wounded in the streets of Ramallah are Palestinians, whom Israel does not allow to be rounded up and Red Cross ambulances are not allowed to travel, and a number of bodies are buried inside hospitals. The Palestinian security center has surrendered to Israeli attacks and many have been captured. Global sentiment against Israel is on the rise, and the pressure on the United States and Israel is intense, but there is no sign of leniency on the part of Israel and the United States, as if it sees no other way than violence. Israeli tanks have also been deployed outside the gates of Nablus.  

[Donald Rumsfeld], the US Secretary of Defense, has once again threatened Iran and Syria, calling Iran the main instigator of the Palestinian Mujahideen and claiming that influential members of Al-Qaeda are welcome in Iran. In Cairo, students attacked and damaged several U.S. offices and companies. In Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers stormed the central church, killing a priest and wounding six nuns. They also set fire to the main mosque of the city, the Mosque of Omar.  

In Afghanistan, the owners of 70 trade unions in Kabul have stopped working in protest against insecurity, the latest of which is the arrest of the owner of one of the units by unknown armed forces and blackmailing him. The first batch of British troops, numbering 130 people, was stationed at Bagram Airport to help the United States in the war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and it is supposed to be 1,700 people.

Pakistan arrested Abu Zubaydah, the head of al-Qaeda's operations, and extradited him to the United States, who had been shot several times. The U.S. hopes that through him they will gain access to the secrets of al-Qaeda and prevent them from reorganizing.

In Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad is on the defensive because of his attack on some Islamic scholars and his incomplete definition of terrorism, which includes Palestinian martyrdom operations. Part of these positions are due to the Pan Islamic Party, which is his main rival and has now won the elections in two Malaysian states, in the north and east of Malaysia, with a majority, and they have serious differences with the government over the implementation of Islamic rulings.

The Iraqi government has proposed that oil weapons be used for the benefit of the Palestinian people and against the United States and Israel. [Mr. Kamal Kharrazi], the Iranian Foreign Minister in Malaysia, has also agreed to it, and this has caused the price of oil to rise, with an additional two dollars, to the price of $27.5, which has angered the United States. Unfortunately, [Saud al-Faisal], the Saudi foreign minister, has opposed it as before.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have sharply criticized Israel for obstructing aid to those affected. [Mary] Robinson, [the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights], has said that the Israeli army uses doctors as a defensive shield to prevent armed actions by Palestinians in their homes against them.  

In the evening, Mr. [Dadkhoda] Barkam, the former deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, came and asked me to enter the scene as in the past to organize the political and economic affairs in the country.