Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 5, 2003

Mr. [Hossein] Ghasemi, CEO of [Kish Free Zone Organization], came. He gave a report on the progress of the work and asked me to travel to Kish in the winter.

Messrs. [Rahim] Malekzadeh and [Masoud] Soltanpour, [CEO of the Marine Facilities Engineering and Construction Company], came and gave a report on the important services of the Marine Industries Company that Mehdi had established. They complained about the strictness of the [General] Inspection [Organization].

Mr. [Abbasali] Alizadeh, head of the Tehran Judiciary, came and criticized the performance of Mr. [Saeed] Mortazavi, Tehran prosecutor, and Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Hashemi Shahroudi, [head of the Judiciary], especially regarding Zahra Kazemi and [Mohsen] Sazegara. He said that Sazegara would be released. He gave a report on the shortcomings in the work of the Judiciary.

In the afternoon, the guests from the Chamber of Commerce came. They are holding a summit of the Chambers of Commerce of [Islamic] [countries]. Mr. [Ali-Naqi] Khamoushi, [head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines], gave a report. Their chairman, Mr. Ismail Ali Aboudawood, had come in a wheelchair. I spoke about the importance of commerce and trade, the share of the Islamic world, and the need for Islamic countries to cooperate in securing their share.

Israel attacked an area in northeastern Damascus that was a training center for Palestinian militants and left a number of people wounded. Syria called for an immediate meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and the Arab League held an emergency summit. [Israel] has also attacked Gaza and said that it has prepared the groundwork for expelling Yasser Arafat, [president of the Palestinian Authority]. In Iraq, anti-American demonstrations are gradually intensifying.

A report has been published in the American media that Hossein Khomeini met with Reza Pahlavi and encouraged him to fight, and said that the people of Iran regard him as an alternative to the regime. In an interview, he also said that in past years he had doubted the fundamentals of religions and gradually overcome his doubts, but had reached the conclusion that during the occultation of the Imam of the Age (may God hasten his reappearance), establishing an Islamic government is not permissible.

[In an incident] at a church in Los Angeles, America, an individual opened fire on people, killing at least three people. It was also announced that Pope [John Paul II] had developed a serious illness.