Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – July 23, 1983

I read a booklet about the history of the Muslim Brotherhood. They were supposed to give the war news, but until eight in the morning they had not. I spoke with the [President]; it was decided that the publicity about the victory should begin. It has been well planned. For the marriage of Farzaneh [Hashemi Bahramani], my niece, to Alireza, the son of Mr. [Abolfazl] Tavakoli [Bina], I went to the Imam; the marriage contract was concluded. The Imam again emphasized the illegality of the three branches of government interfering in the running of the Broadcasting Organization. I said that, given that my brother Mohammad is involved, it is not appropriate for me to interfere. He said that because of your being your brother, [the matter] should not be left to suffer injustice and the Broadcasting Organization should not be harmed. [The Imam] was pleased with the successes of the war. At eight-thirty, the publicity and news of the victories began.

My office informed me that Mr. [Mohammad-Javad] Larijani—who the night before last had been appointed by the supervisory council [of the Broadcasting Organization] as temporary head [of the organization]—wanted to consult with me. I said that since the Imam has entered the matter, I will not interfere. Mr. [Seyyed Reza] Zavarei and Mr. [Hassan] Rouhani [the Assembly's representatives on the Broadcasting Organization's supervisory council] telephoned. They were upset. It was decided that they would leave their resignations with my office. They requested an appointment with the Imam for the [Broadcasting Organization's supervisory] council. I conveyed the message to the Imam; they did not accept. The Imam ordered that until the managing director is decided upon by the heads of the three branches, my brother Mohammad should be in charge of running the Broadcasting Organization.

In the afternoon we had a session on the distribution of goods and made some progress. A list was prepared of the goods whose prices must be determined and controlled. We also had a session with the Tehran representatives to examine and solve the problems of [the city of] Tehran, which, because it convened late and there was little time, got nowhere. I stayed at the Assembly that night.