Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 6, 2003

The parliament of Pakistan's Sarhad Province has approved that the province be governed by Islamic laws, which has angered secular and liberal forces. Yasser Arafat, [head of the Palestinian Authority], announced that at the Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba summits, nothing was achieved for Palestine, and that Israel, with insolence, continued its extensive aggression even during the presence of George Bush, [US President], in the region and while the meeting was in session. The Arab Parliaments' summit called for the withdrawal of American and British forces from Iraq. George Bush, on the last day of his one-week trip, went to Qatar and met with American troops, and refrained from traveling to Iraq due to security concerns.

The European Union sent a probe to Mars via Russian launchers from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is expected to reach Mars in six months. Yesterday, in the North Caucasus in North Ossetia, a female guerrilla approached a bus carrying Russian Air Force personnel and detonated herself, blowing up the bus and killing 17 soldiers and wounding several others.

The two-week deadline given by [Paul] Bremer, [head of the Coalition Provisional Authority], to the Iraqi people to turn over their weapons expired, but it was not welcomed by the people, and no one complied. Israel is pursuing the revival of an oil pipeline that used to carry Iraqi oil to the port of Haifa in Israel, with a capacity of 40,000 barrels per day.

In Iraq, several Americans have been killed and wounded by unknown assailants. Several Baghdad residents have also been wounded by American gunfire. In Afghanistan, since last night, there have been nine attacks on foreign military centers. A Hamas spokesman said that the Palestinian nation does not accept [Mahmoud Abbas] Abu Mazen, [Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority], and will not cooperate with him.

Ayatollah Khamenei's statements at the day-before-yesterday's ceremony, in which he deemed a US military attack on Iran unlikely and foolish, called it suicide, and criticized the Participation Front (Mosharekat) and liberals, have been widely reflected in foreign and anti-revolutionary media. At most Friday prayers, harsh attacks have been made against the representatives who signed the letter to the Leader.

In Australia, police raided the centers of the MKO (Mujahideen-e Khalq) and arrested a number of people. The MKO has attributed this action to Iranian pressure during the Australian Foreign Minister's trip to Iran.

I was studying at home until evening. The flood in Golestan has caused heavy damage.