Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 31, 1981

First thing in the morning, I wrote yesterday's diary entries and prepared a message for the [Islamic Unity] seminar of university and school students of Kerman Province.

At nine-thirty in the morning, I went to Parliament. After studying the reports, I gave an interview to Shahed magazine—the official organ of the Martyr Foundation (Bonyad-e Shahid)—about my life, and [also] an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit.

A delegation from Eritrea came and spoke about the state of the Eritrean revolution. They were satisfied with the recent cooperation of Islamic countries. They had achieved good results from the recent Taif conference. Following our lead, they want to pursue a "Neither East nor West" policy; since the Marxist regime of Ethiopia is fighting them, the Eritrean communists have been isolated, and the Muslims and nationalists are running the movement.

They had brought a letter from Mr. "Nasser Mohammad Ahmad," leader of the movement.

In the afternoon, Mr. [Iraj] Safati [Dezfouli], representative of Abadan, and an IRGC representative came. They had taken steps to procure bulldozers and loaders for the Abadan front, but their work had been disrupted; I helped resolve the disruption.

Then I attended a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Republican Party. Discussions were held on the post-Esfand 14 [March 5] situation at the university, and an analysis was presented regarding the relationship of the Line of the Imam with the Imam, the war situation, and the mediating delegation of the "Taif Islamic Conference."

Early in the evening, I went to the party headquarters. A group from the Fasa and Kazerun camp had arrived. I led congregational prayers with them and spoke to them for a while. I [then] attended the Central Council meeting of the party.

Afterwards, I went to the Prime Minister's Office. The Supervisory Council of IRIB (Seda va Sima) and Messrs. Beheshti, Bahonar, Rajai, and Behzad Nabavi were present. Until past midnight, we discussed current affairs of the country, the economic situation, fuel, the war, and the selection of the other party's representative on the arbitration committee regarding the disputes. I arrived home at one o'clock in the morning. The news of the assassination attempt on US President [Ronald] Reagan was received early in the morning. It is a major event, and its consequences remain to be seen.