Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - February 25, 2003

Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - February 25, 2003

Sheikh Abbas Firouzi's meeting with Hashemi

Consultative meeting of Ali Mohammad Ahad Tajari, Director of Hajj and Pilgrimage of the Headquarters of Azadegan Affairs

The visit and important report of Ali Abedzadeh, the CEO of Aseman Airlines at the time, from his accusation case

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Mohammad Taghi Amanpour meet and report

Meeting of the Society of Combatant Clergy

Full text of the diary:

The resolution proposed by the United States, Britain and Spain to the Security Council on Iraq was explicitly opposed by Russia, Germany and France. In the proposed resolution, Iraq is accused of missing the opportunity and continuing to violate Security Council orders. The opposition says that political pressure must be continued to disarm Iraq.

The Turkish government has submitted a bill to the parliament to obtain permission for the use of Turkish military bases by the American military; the Turkish people are opposed. A U.S. military helicopter crashed in northern Kuwait, killing four soldiers.

An Israeli F-16 plane crashed in northern Palestine, with Palestinian militants saying it was shot down by rocket fire. The commander of the Israeli Air Force banned the aircraft from flying until further notice. Sharon, by a majority of one vote, approved his weak coalition cabinet, and the Labour Party refused to participate in the cabinet because of Sharon's warmongering.

The Non-Aligned Summit ended its work by opposing the invasion of Iraq and calling for the destruction of all weapons of mass destruction in the world and the reform of the structure of the United Nations in a democratic direction.

Mr. [Abbas] Firouzi, one of the students of the front, came to the front. He sought help to solve his livelihood problems. [Mr. Ali Mohammad Ahad Tajari], who was in charge of the Hajj [and pilgrimage] of the freedmen and a student who had participated in the war and had been a prisoner for nine years, came and made a suggestion about the governmentalization of seminary education and the determination of the regime to prevent the infiltration of unworthy people into the Basij organs.

Mr. [Ali] Abedzadeh, the head of Aseman Airlines, came and said that the Supreme Court had ruled in his favor in the case of the downed plane in Isfahan and that the judge in charge of the case had been referred to the Disciplinary Court of Judges. Aseman has been sold to the Pensions Authority, he said, adding that there is a similarity between the crash of the Ilyushin plane and the Aseman plane, which may have been caused by the action of the superpowers by sending waves.

In the evening, Messrs. [Bijan Namdar] Zanganeh [Minister of Oil] and [Mohammad Taghi] Amanpour, [CEO of the Oil Commodity Company], came and explained about the plans for the domestic manufacture of important industries of the Ministry of Oil, such as the manufacture of drilling equipment, pipes, turbines, compressors, and parts, and asked for the help of the [Expediency Council] in approving their credits.

At night, members of the Combatant Clergy Society [Tehran] were my guests. They discussed the council elections, the upcoming parliamentary elections, Iraqi issues, nuclear technology, and the news of the day. It was decided that people from different parts of Tehran would participate in the meeting of the regional militant clergy.