Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 15, 1982

Early in the morning I went to Parliament. Because of the snow and the representatives' delay, Parliament started an hour late. We canceled the pre-agenda speeches. I was also a little irritated because of the representatives' delay, and while presiding over the session I snapped at some of the representatives, but they tolerated it. During the recess I spoke to a group of workers who were members of the Islamic Republic Party.

At noon, after prayers, I had several meetings. Lieutenant General Zahirnejad, the Army Chief of Staff, came and spoke to prove his loyalty, declare his disavowal of Bani-Sadr, and express his desire to serve Islam. I reassured him. In the afternoon, Dr. Abdullah Jasbi and the founding team of Islamic Azad University came. They gave a report, and I also spoke to them. We held a meeting of the Board of Directors.

After the meeting I went to the presidential headquarters. They have made a film about the life and martyrdom of Qays ibn Musahhar al-Saydawi; we watched it, and it is very interesting. The film is more than two hours long. It is the beginning of a very good artistic movement. Late at night I also had useful discussions with the country's leaders about war policy and economic and foreign policy, and decisions were made. I went to Parliament to sleep.

At twelve o'clock I got the news. An important message has been issued by the Imam, prohibiting extremism, harassing people, spying, wiretapping, and unjustified purges. It is a very influential message. It was issued under the influence of the people's broad participation in the elections.