Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – August 29, 2003

The six-party talks [the United States, South Korea, Russia, Japan, North Korea, and China in] Beijing also failed to reach a conclusion. Importantly, North Korea officially stated in that meeting that it is ready to test its atomic bomb and is the ninth country possessing nuclear weapons. This news exploded like a bomb around the world.

Yesterday, the interrogation of [Tony] Blair, [the British Prime Minister], and [Greg Dyke], the head of the BBC, attracted the attention of many media outlets. At the same time, a power outage in a vast area of England for a relatively long duration, and its similarity to the blackout in the United States, placed additional pressure on the British government and caused many problems for the people, especially in the subway tunnels.

There is news about the publication of a book by the notorious terrorist Carlos, written while in a French prison. In it, while analyzing and praising thirty years of struggle against colonialists, he introduces himself as a follower of [Osama] bin Laden, [the leader of Al-Qaeda], and describes him as the only guiding light at the present time. Western media have launched extensive efforts to further discredit him in order to diminish the impact of this book.

The fortieth anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King and its passionate ceremonies have created widespread mobilization among the oppressed classes of America, especially African Americans. In particular, the speech of Martin Luther King III and the broadcast of King's voice from his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, combined with the difficult situation of the US government due to economic and security issues and George Bush's troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan, have amplified the impact of these events.

The Association for the Defense of Press Freedom, in a statement, has called for the resignation of Mr. Hashemi Shahroudi, [the head of the judiciary], citing the speech of [Mohsen] Armin, [the spokesperson of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization and a representative of Tehran], and the dissatisfaction of the press.

This year, during Government Week, extensive and unprecedented propaganda is being carried out by the government and the IRIB regarding development and construction, which directs public opinion toward the correctness of the "Construction Government's" path. It has become a source of surprise why, after six years, they have returned to this course. What is even more interesting is that the major projects being promoted are the very ones that were underway during the Construction Government and are only now bearing fruit after delays; of course, this should be taken as a good omen.

Mr. [Ali Akbar] Salehi, Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a letter announced Iran's readiness to begin negotiations with the Agency regarding [joining] the Additional Protocol. However, some mysterious circles have considered this a tactic to buy time and deceive. At the same time, many Western media have called on the Agency, the European Union, and the United States to intensify pressure on Iran. The publication "Policy Watch," affiliated with the Washington [Institute for Military and Security Studies], in a lengthy article mixing truth and falsehood, has portrayed Iran as being on the verge of building a nuclear weapon and has proposed efforts by the Agency, the Security Council [of the United Nations], and the United States to stop Iran's work.

In Germany, in addition to media hype, the trial of Mr. Manouchehr Sadri, Iran's former consul general, on espionage charges has been orchestrated with great fanfare. [Gerhard Schröder], the German Chancellor, has officially sent a message to Iran urging full cooperation with the IAEA.

In England, the Muslim group "Al-Muhajiroun" has announced that they will celebrate the second anniversary of September 11 to honor the nineteen heroes of that event. In their statement, they have placed a photo of [Osama] bin Laden, [the leader of Al-Qaeda], and the nineteen perpetrators alongside the ruins of the Twin Towers. Last year, this group also held a ceremony at the Finsbury Park mosque [in north London], which led to the expulsion of Sheikh Abu Hamza, the [congregational] imam of the mosque. The founder of this group is a Syrian cleric named Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, who had previously founded it in Saudi Arabia in 1983, but was expelled by Saudi Arabia and went to London.

Al-Muhajiroun, or Al-Muhajirun, has launched extensive publicity for this ceremony on its website, presenting it as a response to the violence against Muslims by the United States over the past two years. Meanwhile, Mr. Khalid Mahmood, the first Muslim member of parliament [from Birmingham] in the British Parliament, has condemned these actions and called on the British police to deal with them.

It is likely that England is tolerating them to this extent in order to demonstrate freedom and as a way to identify supporters of Al-Qaeda.

In the afternoon, news suddenly broke of a bomb explosion near the shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, resulting in the martyrdom of a number of Friday prayer worshippers. It was later confirmed that Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqir Hakim, [the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq], was the target of the attack and was martyred. I was deeply saddened and followed the news until late at night. So far, reports speak of 83 martyrs and over 200 wounded. Ayatollah Khamenei immediately issued a statement and declared three days of public mourning in Iran, followed by three days of public mourning in Iraq.

Regarding the perpetrators of the explosion, suspicion mostly falls on the Baathists. While several other factors are also being considered, since documents from the former Iraqi regime previously revealed that Saddam Hussein had advised his supporters to carry out acts of sabotage and to assassinate religious scholars and occupiers in the event of the regime's fall in the war [with the US], this possibility is stronger. Given the assassination attempt on Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Saeed Hakim a few days earlier, it is clear that there is a plan to eliminate mobilizing religious figures, similar to what happened in the early days of the Iranian Revolution.

The number of operations and casualties among the occupiers [in Iraq] was high, as on previous days. In Basra, the British also suffered casualties. In Fallujah, a curfew was imposed. In Zabol, Afghanistan, widespread clashes continue, and the US has used aircraft and helicopters against the Taliban, reporting 35 Taliban killed.

The trial of Mr. [Hadi] Soleimanpour in London today ruled to continue his detention and did not accept bail for his release. This is also indicative of a sinister agenda against Iran. I read a report on the negotiations of [Javier Solana], the special envoy of the British government, with security officials in Iran. In it, while expressing satisfaction with the cooperation of the Shiites, especially the Supreme Council and the Dawa Party, with the occupiers, Britain complained about the presence of IRGC personnel in Iraq and is seeking Iran's help to overcome Iraq's security problems.

I also read a report, based on documents obtained from Iraqi intelligence after the fall of Saddam, that in 1986 during the war, many anti-revolutionary groups in Iran, such as the MKO (Mojahedin-e-Khalq), the Fada'iyan [Khalq], and Kurdish and Baloch groups, carried out numerous bombings in Iran on the orders of Iraq, resulting in the martyrdom of many people.