Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 13, 1981

In order to learn the Imam’s view regarding Mr. Bani-Sadr, concerning the presidency and the motion of political incompetence, I went to his home early in the morning. The members of the Cultural Revolution Headquarters, along with Messrs. Qodousi and Rabbani and many others, were there. The Imam, like me, believed that it was preferable for Mr. Bani-Sadr to comply with the law and remain President, but in all likelihood, he would not submit to the law. Therefore, we must complete the proof against him; we should even invite him to negotiate. If he does not submit, there is no alternative but to act according to the law. He was not worried about the consequences either. He does not consider Mr. Bani-Sadr to be a force to be reckoned with. He also told Mr. Qodousi to issue a warning; if we got no result, the time would come to confront him. It was decided that the Parliament should proceed along this same course.

I gave an interview and made a brief statement. Then I went to the Parliament. I visited part of the Parliament’s administrative staff, the Telex Department, and the Laws Department, and listened to the employees’ requests. I read the reports.

Scattered demonstrations against Mr. Bani-Sadr and in support of [the opposing side] are taking place in Tehran and the provinces. Several people have so far been killed.

At noon, at Mr. Qodousi’s request, we had a meeting with him and Mr. Khamenei in my office. Mr. Qodousi said that executive friends in the Revolutionary Guards and elsewhere were complaining that decisions were being made by the party or by Mr. Beheshti personally, while they were not being kept informed. But this is not really the case. They were mistaken.

The real issue is the suspension of the newspapers, which the Supreme Judicial Council had carried out without consultation and, in fact, contrary to the views of others.

In the afternoon, I studied my own file that had been compiled by SAVAK during the arrests. Messrs. Parvaresh and Yarmohammadi came and asked for an explanation of the Imam’s view.

I spoke with Mr. [Abbas] Dozdouzani, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, about providing financial support to the Azadegan newspaper, which is facing difficulties and needs advertising.