Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 1, 1999

Before noon, we went to the Leadership office and attended the Eid ceremony [celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)]. Mr. [Seyed Mohammad] Khatami, [President], offered his congratulations. Ayatollah Khamenei spoke; his voice was raspy and he appeared tired. The ceremony was lackluster. Guests from the Unity Conference were also in attendance.

We returned home. I told the office to give two thousand tomans as an Eid gift (Eidi) to each of the bodyguards. I spent some time cleaning the bottom of the pool; Fati also came to help. At noon, Fati, Saeed, their children, Aqa Reza, and Fereshteh-khanom were there as well. Ashraf-khanom brought us dolmeh. They appealed for assistance regarding electricity for the Hasanabad and Mohsenabad areas. They said most of the villages in that region are being evacuated; if electricity is provided, people might return, but since each has fewer than twenty households, they are not a priority for government electrification. They had brought a petition, which I sent to the Minister of [Reconstruction] Jihad.

Aqa Reza [Mar'ashi, my brother-in-law] mentioned that he resolved the Sadeqabad water passage issue with Mr. Nazari. Mr. Ali Mar'ashi—his brother—was blocking the conversion of the stream into a pipe. Aqa Reza granted permission for piping by assuming a share of the cost. Based on past precedent, Sadeqabad usually did not contribute to the maintenance costs (nafaqeh) of the qanat in the past.

In the afternoon, Dr. Abusa'edi arrived. He spoke about the high cost of education in Canada and the United States, the worsening situation of health insurance and hospitals in Canada, and the job market struggles for young doctors. He also helped assemble the pool vacuum cleaner that Fati had brought from Canada last year and didn't know how to operate; he got completely soaked in the process.

At night, Mehdi, [CEO of the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company], came. He complained about Messrs. [Bijan Namdar] Zanganeh, [Minister of Petroleum], and Behzad Nabavi, who prevent major contracts from being awarded to the Offshore Company, saying they give the work to foreign companies instead. My nephew—Dr. Mohammad [my brother's son]—arrived; he is the head of Imam Hossein Hospital and spoke of shortages in medicines and budget allocations. My other nephew—Dr. Mohammad (Tahereh's son)—came; he has finished his military service and is unemployed. He said there are too many doctors and finding a job has become difficult.

In the news reports, Israeli sources published a report claiming that 9 of the 13 Jews accused of espionage in Iran are set to be released. The defendants informed their families by phone from prison, asking that Zionists tone down their anti-Iranian propaganda so as not to bring pressure upon Iranian Jews. Members of the French Senate and National Assembly issued statements against Iran.