Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 23, 2003

Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Mohri, one of the scholars of Kuwait, came to my home to seek my opinion about the issues of Iraq. He complains about the Leader's Office for not giving him a private meeting time. He has met with Mr. Khatami, the President, and Hashemi Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, and has seen the differences between them as serious and the government as weak in the decision-making element. He asked me to take action for the upcoming presidential election and said that Mr. Hashemi Shahroudi wants this too and believes in you, and your international credibility is high.

He said that the scholars criticize your meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr. They say you have given him legitimacy and it would have been better if you had not announced the news of the meeting before the Leadership and Mr. Shahroudi. I said that excluding him, with the many supporters he has, is harmful and intensifies the division among the Shia, and the enemies take advantage of it. Iran must have a paternal attitude toward the Shia groups of Iraq. He is satisfied with the defeat of the Shia Hezbollahis of Kuwait against the moderate current.

I went to my office. Mr. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, came with his high-ranking delegation. The negotiations concerned the development of cooperation and the acknowledgment of the low level of cooperation. He invited me to go to Pakistan.

Mr. Masih Mohajeri, the social advisor to the President and managing editor of the Jomhouri Eslami newspaper, came. He is strongly protesting Iran's submission to sign the Additional Protocol and the suspension of enrichment. He said that in a meeting held in the Leader's Office, most of those present, including Mr. Ali Akbar Velayati, the Leader's advisor on international affairs, were opposed, and the office staff were passive. He said that during the meeting Mr. Asghar Hejazi was summoned. On his return, he said that there is no objection to criticism in the newspaper; but expressions like the Turkmenchay [treaty] that appeared in yesterday's Jomhouri editorial are not correct. He suspects the Leadership told him this. He asked me not to confirm it. He said that some people, because of Mr. Dr. Hassan Rouhani's relations with you, think that you have encouraged him.

The American military commander in Iraq has said that yesterday American forces were attacked 35 times. A number of soldiers who had gone on leave are refusing to return. A widespread demonstration has been held in western Baghdad against the occupiers, in protest of the arrest of three women on the charge of their husbands' escape.

In America, opponents of the war have announced a demonstration of hundreds of thousands for Sunday. During George Bush's trip to Australia, as in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, and so on, there have been opposition demonstrations. Senators protested during Bush's speech in parliament. The Madrid conference to collect aid for the reconstruction of Iraq began.