Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 11, 1998

Mr. [Hossamuddin] Ashna and [Amir] Tehrani from the Ministry of Information came. They brought special reports. They said that Ayatollah Montazeri's students have turned to Mr. [Syed Abd al-Karim Mousavi] Ardabili and [Sheikh Youssef] Sanei, and Mr. Sanei is gradually adopting more radical positions. They said that Mr. Montazeri did not accept the offer to meet with Mr. [Ebrahim] Raisi, [the head of the General Inspection Organization of the country] and said, either everyone or no one.

Regarding Mr. Karbaschi's appeals court, they thought that it would be better if the court was impartial. It was arranged to talk with Mr. [Kazem] Sediqi, [President of Tehran Public Courts] who is responsible for referring the case. They sent two pamphlets in the evening; One of Ayatollah Montazeri, which was published in a limited and smuggled form, and the other is an address and response to the statements of Mr. Yazdi, in which many insults were given to the leader.

Mr. Mojtaba Kolbasi, the person in charge of preparing the interpretation of the guide, came. He was critical of the [Islamic Qom] Propaganda Office and the management of the [Culture and] Qur'an Education Center, and gave explanations about the working method and brought a book that was prepared from the original notes of my interpretation in prison, and only those impressions are given under each verse. It is an important and easy task. With some corrections, I gave permission to print and publish. He applied for housing. He has a land that is included in the Qom water source plan.

Mr. Mohsen Rezaei, [Secretary of the Expediency Analysis Council] came. He said that he has worked on his son Ahmed and hopes to be able to bring him back from America. It has blocked the broadcast and the interview. They talk on the phone. A written resignation from the responsibility of the secretary of the assembly, due to my not accepting his suggestions; I told him to wait. He wants an independent and hardworking work. I disagree with the development of administrative staff and high costs.

Mr. Masih Mohajeri, [president's social advisor and managing director of Jumohri-e-Islami newspaper] came. He said about the importance of the explosions of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He is saddened by the events in Afghanistan and the advance of the Taliban in the north and the fall of Mazar-e-Sharif. He expressed questions and opinions about the state of leadership, economic policies of the government and cultural and political issues.

In the evening Mr. [Mustafa] Pourmohammadi came from the Ministry of Information; He is going to Iraq. He had questions about the negotiated issues for the implementation of the 1975 Algerian agreement and resolution [598] and the conflicts between the two countries, and he brought a report of the results and reflection of Mr. Khatami's [President] interview with the CNN news network.

The founding group of the party establishing independence [= moderation and development], Mr. [Ismail] Shushtri, [Hossein] Mahluji, [Mahmoud] Vaezi, [Mohammedreza] Nematzadeh, [Akbar] Turkan, [Morteza] Bank, [Mohammed Baqer] Nobakht, [Feridon] Vardinejad, [Gholamreza] Faruzesh, [Ali] Jannati, [Morteza] Mohammad Khan and Mohsen [Hashmi] came to report the work They gave and asked us to persuade Mr. [Hassan] Habibi and [Hassan] Rouhani to be officially members of the party and to get permission from the leadership.

I stayed in my office at night. I finished the tasks and read the reports. The issue of Afghanistan and the explosions in Kenya and Tanzania are of interest. The hypocrites are trying to make Iran responsible for the explosions, but they have not been able to prove their false claim.