Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 22, 2003

Mr. Goran Opajić, the new ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro, came. He had previously been a journalist in Iran for four years. I asked many questions about his country. He believes that the socialist vote is gradually declining and that Slobodan Milošević is also falling out of favor with the people, and that relations with Kosovo are not good, but relations with Bosnia are good. They have included two Muslim ministers in the cabinet.

Mr. Mohammad Hossein Imani, the Iranian Consul General in Peshawar, Pakistan, came. He said that about 250,000 of the 24 million population of Pakistan's Sarhad region are Shia, and there is practically no border between that region and Afghanistan, and the Taliban and Al-Qaeda live there easily. He criticized the weakening of Iran's relations with Pakistan.

Messrs. Ahmad Shafiei, Deputy Minister, Amir Tehrani, and Rahim Mohammadi, advisors to the minister, came from the Ministry of Intelligence. They gave a report on the recent unrest. They said that two groups, the monarchists and Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, had a joint headquarters in Karaj, and through direct contact with America, foreign counter-revolutionaries, and satellites, they organized the slogans and strategies for the unrest. About 800 people have been arrested in Tehran, Karaj, and elsewhere, some of whom have heavy files and are generally in the custody of the ministry. A number were also arrested by the IRGC and the judiciary, who are in their own custody, and in some cases, members of the Mosharekat Party were also involved in inciting thugs and students; for example, in Tehran Pars, Chaharrah-ye Tiran-daz, a small number of those arrested are students. They also made suggestions for the future.

In the evening, Ali-Mohammad Besharati, the former Minister of Interior, came. He had remarks on various matters of the country's administration. The Iranian ambassador to France, Mr. Sadegh Kharrazi, came. He discussed the issue of the MKO arrests and Iran's role, and France's policies, which are aimed both at removing the threat of terrorists in France and at rapprochement with Iran, but they do not want it to be seen as relations with Iran and want it to be seen as France's national interests. The Iranian embassy's report on the MKO's cooperation with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan has also had a great impact.

He said that he was taken by helicopter over the site of their residence in southwestern Paris and was told it is about 80 hectares, and they found many things besides weapons, including listening devices that can pick up signals from a thousand kilometers away. The French, now that they have lost Iraq, are willing to have a suitable position in Iran. He criticized the government's lack of action regarding this issue. He suggested that we hire a lawyer and be involved in the proceedings of their cases in the courts. Today, the court issued prison sentences for Maryam Rajavi and 160 leaders of the MKO and handed them over to prison, and the MKO has started extensive activities to free them. So far, 12 people have set themselves on fire, two of whom have died. There is also a theory that they may be trying, in coordination with America, to move them from a military phase to a political phase and exploit them.

In Iraq, an oil pipeline leading to the Al-Doura refinery was blown up, and in an operation, one American was killed and another wounded. Demonstrations against the Americans were held, and the U.S. military arrested three members of the Supreme Council. Bush, the U.S. President, openly admitted that his troops' work in Iraq has become very difficult and perilous.

In Afghanistan, U.S. forces have launched a widespread and comprehensive operation against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In Palestine, Abdullah Qawasmi, a commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was martyred by the Israelis in Al-Khalil (Hebron), and they have said they will take revenge. The trip of Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State, and Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor, was made to follow up on the roadmap for peace.

A ship carrying 250 African migrants sank off the coast of Italy, and about 200 of them have died. In Nigeria, three oil pipeline explosions have left 100 dead.