Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – September 18, 2003

We flew toward Sabzevar. Effat and her companions came too. After the welcoming ceremony at the airport, I went to the prayer grounds. We stayed there until noon for the congress commemorating the 1,600 martyrs of Sabzevar County. They had enjoyable and good programs. [Messrs. Seyyed Hassan Rasouli], the governor of [Khorasan], [Mehdi Rabbani], the IRGC commander, and [Gholamhossein Ebrahimi], the Friday prayer leader, spoke. The brother of a martyr recited a poem, and an artistic group presented several performances. There was eulogy recitation, and they had a good host named Mr. Keramat. At the end, I gave a lengthy speech about Sabzevar, the martyrs, the Sacred Defense, and current conditions. A large crowd was present, and they were enthusiastic.

We had lunch at the home of Mr. Ebrahimi, the Friday prayer leader of [Sabzevar]. Effat and her companions were at the hotel. After the prayers and lunch, I met with the clerics, the county's managers, members of the IRGC, and a group of people from the village of Afchang [in Karab Rural District]—which had given 49 martyrs. With each group, matters relevant to them were discussed.

At six in the evening, we arrived in Mashhad. Until sunset, we held talks with Mr. [Vaez] Tabasi. It was decided that Mostafa—their son, who is skilled in engraving on agate—would make me a ring with the inscription “Rabbana waffiqna lima tuhibbu wa tarda.”

After the prayers, the members of Mashhad's new city council came; they are all from the right-wing faction and are serious. They explained their work and plans. I criticized the delay in rebuilding the worn-out areas around the shrine of [Imam Reza (PBUH)].

After dinner, Messrs. Gholamreza, Mehdi, and Majid Vafadar—our relatives from Mashhad—came. They said that the situation of the poultry farms is dire and that many of them have suffered losses.

In Iraq, in several operations, a number of the occupiers have been killed and wounded, and once again the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline has been blown up, and there are reports of Saddam suffering from a serious illness. With the martyrdom of [Jihad Abu Seheireh], one of the Palestinian figures, the number of martyrs of the Second Intifada reached 2,600.

The discussion of Iran's nuclear issues is heated in both domestic and foreign media, and the issue of the “Fatwa Council,” which I raised at the gathering of seminary students in Mashhad, is being discussed and analyzed in the domestic media. I had a slight fever and went to sleep after taking a painkiller.