Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 14, 1994

In the reports, there is news of the fall in the prices of foreign currencies; He was influenced by the news of our agreement with Japan and Germany to absorb the arrears and the decisions of the central bank.

From half past eight in the morning to noon, we had a full meeting of the Economic Council and the Supreme Council of Free Zones with many resolutions regarding the price of plane tickets and regulations of Free Zones, etc. Mr. [Hossein] Kamali, [Minister of Labor and Social Affairs] came and gave an illustrated report on the construction of vocational and technical centers and internships and labor workshops.

Asr Mohsen and Mr. [Asghar] Ebrahimi, [CEO of Metro Company] came. They gave their opinions about the Tehran subway. It was decided to respect the priorities of starting line one. Regarding the way of supplying wagons, Mr. Ebrahimi brought a new theory regarding the preference of Russian wagons due to their cheapness and faster construction. The price difference is huge. They used to say that it is not suitable for the Tehran subway, but for now, it is claimed that with the minor changes accepted by the Russians, it is accepted by the technical office. The difference is so great that it is not easy to ignore it. I said follow up. If we are sure of their efficiency, let's accept it.

At night, we made a TV message for Iranians abroad. I was a guest of the leader at dinner. It was discussed about the new map of Tehran mosque. Satisfaction was expressed about the fall in currency prices. They complained that some government companies participated in buying foreign currency from the open market. They said that they had forbidden the ground forces from doing this because they wanted to get currency for the meat. We also talked about Tehran subway cars and Mr. Natiq [Nuri's] trips to Pakistan. I came home late.